


Leave Your Heart at the Door

by justyrae



Category: BBC Radio 1 RPF, One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fashion & Models, Alternate Universe - Prostitution, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst, Blow Jobs, Comeplay, Dirty Talk, Facials, Flirting, Frottage, Hand Jobs, Kissing, M/M, Pining, thigh-fucking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-20
Updated: 2016-03-20
Packaged: 2018-05-28 00:18:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 24,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6306076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justyrae/pseuds/justyrae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nick groans as he puts his head down on his desk as the thought sinks in; he can't possibly have a <i>crush</i> on Louis. It was only one night, after all, and besides, Louis is a prostitute. Nick cannot have a crush on a <i>prostitute</i>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Leave Your Heart at the Door

**Author's Note:**

> these things just happen, okay, idk. one minute i'm minding my own business, trying to sort through my endless list of ideas, the next i find myself writing three fics at once and driving myself crazy by coming up with even more ideas. story of my life, i guess.
> 
> super big hugs to my betas J and C for (mostly) keeping me on track :)

Sleep is one luxury that Nick can't quite get a handle on these days. The nights he actually makes it back to his flat he manages perhaps a few hours at a time that aren't riddled with anxiety dreams. But lately, he's been reduced to sleeping in twenty minute increments on the sofa in his office while surrounded by piles and piles of sketchbook pages and bits of fabric, hoping he doesn't look as awful as he feels.

With his first show at London Fashion Week looming overhead, there really isn't much he can do in the way of relaxing. Every time he tries to take his mind off of work, something inevitably goes wrong and he's thrust right back into the thick of it.

The thing is, he doesn't mind all that much. He's poured everything he is into this show, his line, and his entire career is riding on Fashion Week. He doesn't have _time_ to worry about anything else, least of all his life outside of work.

The problem is, his life outside of work isn't as keen on letting Nick ignore it. Namely, his best friend Daisy refuses to let Nick get away with shutting himself away any longer.

"Nick?"

He groans softly as he rolls over onto his back, glancing over towards where his assistant, Eleanor, is poking her head through the doorway. She looks apologetic for having woken him up but judging by the way she's tightly gripping her clipboard Nick knows he can't possibly nap any longer.

"I haven't missed anything important, have I?" he asks in a tired voice as he sits up and rubs his eyes. Eleanor comes into the office and shuts the door behind her, and Nick notices she's got a travel mug tucked into the crook of her arm. She passes it to him with a soft smile and he sighs appreciatively as he takes a long sip. It's in that moment that he decides Eleanor is his new favorite person from now until forever, if only because she got him his favorite coffee drink without him having to ask.

"You've still got a bit of time before the call with Topshop execs, and I rescheduled your collaboration meeting with Gucci to next week like you asked, but there is one thing that happened while you were…" she pauses and looks up from her clipboard, "taking a break."

"What happened?" Nick asks, his heart rate spiking as he starts to panic about all the things that could've gone wrong in the last half an hour without him.

"Daisy called."

Nick frowns. "That's it?"

"Well…" Eleanor looks a bit uncomfortable as she flicks through a few pages on her clipboard before finding the right one and continuing, "she asked me to remind you not to forget about tonight."

"Tonight?" Nick is confused for about ten seconds before he remembers that he's supposed to get dinner with Daisy, having promised weeks ago after cancelling their last four dinner dates. He groans and buries his head in his hands as he tries to come up with a good reason to cancel (not because he doesn't want to see her but because he truly doesn't think he has the time to spare) that won't make her irrevocably angry with him. "Did you tell her I can't make it?"

"I said that your schedule was tight and you might not be able to--"

"Good, that's good," Nick interrupts, but Eleanor's demeanor doesn't change one bit so he knows it wasn't good at all. "Bloody hell, it didn't work, did it?"

"I'm afraid not," Eleanor shakes her head, "she said, and I quote, 'if you don't meet me tonight I will break into your flat and burn your sketchbooks.'"

"Ha!" Nick snorts. "She doesn't even know where I keep them."

His confidence is blown to bits as Eleanor hands him a slip of paper, detailing the exact location of Nick's precious sketchbooks in his flat just as Daisy had described to her over the phone. Nick hadn't known he could incur such a wrath from Daisy, but he isn't about to put it to the test.

"Well, fuck," Nick mutters as he crumples up the paper in his hand. "Looks like I'm going to dinner, then."

*

"There you are!" Daisy greets joyfully as she spots Nick coming towards her through the crowded bar. She's been sitting at the table long enough that she's halfway through her drink, though Nick knows there's no way to tell if it's her first of the night.

"Yeah, well, thought I'd better come see you before you burn my sketches and murder me in my sleep," Nick replies with a wry smile as he kisses her cheek before settling into his seat across from her.

"You never sleep," Daisy says as she waves down a waiter and orders two more drinks, one for Nick and one for herself. "So, what've you been up to?"

It takes all of twenty seconds for Nick to dive into some long, harrowing story about whatever crisis he's encountered this week with the launch of his new line. He watches as Daisy's eyes glaze over from boredom but she continues listening politely until he's finished.

"What?" he asks, taking a sip of his drink as she silently stares at him.

"What've you done lately that hasn't involved work?" she asks. "Anything?"

"I went to a party just last week!" Nick insists.

Daisy rolls her eyes. "You mean the pre-pre-London Fashion Week party?"

"It was still a party," Nick grumbles. "Don't start this again."

"Start what?" Daisy asks innocently.

"You know full well what." Nick shakes his head. "I am just fine, thank you very much."

"You are not," Daisy huffs, frowning at him. "It's been literal ages since I saw you last, I don't fancy having to threaten my best friend just to see him."

Nick frowns in return as the guilt seeps into his mind and he takes one of Daisy's hands and squeezes it.

"What about if I promised not to cancel on you anymore?"

"That'd be a shit promise and you and I both know it." Daisy chuckles. "I know you mean well, Nick, but you've got to face facts." Nick takes a long drink from his glass as Daisy pauses, sticking out her bottom lip in a pout before she says, "you need to get laid."

Nick was absolutely not expecting Daisy to say that and as a result he nearly spits his drink all over the table.

"What?!"

"Don't think I don't know why you've been so crazy with work," Daisy continues, "you're avoiding the real problem, aren't you?"

"What real problem?" Nick demands. "I haven't got any problems!"

"How long's it been?"

"How long…"

"Don't lie to me now, you know I know when you lie." Daisy's eyes twinkle and Nick looks down at the table.

"I'm not going to answer that, I refuse."

"Oh honey," Daisy frowns and pets his hand, "that long?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Nick says as he all but hides his face in his drink. "I go on dates, y'know."

"I'm not talking about dates, Nicholas. I'm talking about _sex_. Good, hot, forget-your-own-bloody-name sex!"

"Christ, Daisy," Nick groans as he puts his head down on the table. Daisy laughs and ruffles her fingers in his hair.

"Honestly," she scoffs, "dates. Y'know there are other ways, right?"

"Please, Dais, if I haven't got time to see you what makes you think I've got time to go pull someone at a club or something?"

"I'm not talking about pulling," Daisy replies with a mischievous glint in her eye that makes Nick question what's exactly on her mind.

"What do you mean…?" Nick's eyes go wide and he whispers harshly, "are you saying that I should hire a _prostitute_?!"

"Why not?" Daisy asks.

"Why--" Nick sputters as Daisy just keeps staring at him expectantly, "I don't need a bloody _prostitute,_ Daisy! I'm not that desperate!"

"Aren't you, though?" she asks as she reaches down for her purse and starts digging through it.

"Ta, love. Ta very much," Nick replies flatly.

"I'm just saying," Daisy huffs as she pulls out all sorts of bits and bobs from her purse, "at least that way you wouldn't have to worry about all the bullshit, you could just get right down to it and have a fantastic orgasm."

"What makes you think it'd be so fantastic?" Nick scoffs. "What if it's shit?"

Daisy finally finds what she's been looking for and brandishes it in her hand as her smile slips into a smirk and she raises her eyebrow at Nick.

"From what I've heard, this one's nothing short of amazing."

Nick's eyes dart to the card in her hand but he makes no move to take it from her. There's a definitely a power play at work here and he's not sure if he wants to give in just yet.

"D'you just carry around hooker business cards, then?"

"If you _must_ know, a friend of a friend gave this to me weeks ago and I would've given it to you earlier had you not cancelled on me so many times, you dick."

"A friend of a friend?" Nick eyes Daisy suspiciously. "What friend?"

"D'you want the card or not?" She tips the card further in Nick's direction, her smirk growing larger and larger until he finally snatches it out of her hand.

"This is not me saying yes, I'll have you know."

"Sure it isn't," Daisy replies as she rolls her eyes. Nick doesn't even look at the card before tucking it into the pocket of his jeans, fully intending to forget all about it. "Now, can we please get dinner? I'm fucking starving."

*

The card that Daisy gave him doesn't even cross Nick's mind for another week. He's been running himself absolutely ragged at his studio since his dinner with Daisy, so much that Eleanor actually forces him to go back to his flat in the middle of the day to get some much-needed rest.

"You're no good to anyone if you don't get any sleep," she says as she pushes Nick out of the studio to where there's a car waiting to take him home. "Don't come back here til at least 8 tomorrow morning."

"You do realize you work for _me_ , right?" he says with an incredulous laugh as she shoves him towards the car.

"I won't have anyone left to work for if you kill yourself trying to get everything done on no sleep," Eleanor remarks and Nick has to shut up after that, he knows she's right.

He all but drags himself out of the car when it pulls up in front of his flat, suddenly realizing how exhausted he truly is when it takes him several tries to get his key in the lock. He's spent barely any time in his flat in the last week, mostly just stopping by to grab a shower and a change of clothes, and it shows when he steps through the door.

Dust covers most of the surfaces in his flat and there are scattered dishes from times where Nick had a few minutes to eat before he ran out the door, never having the chance to go back and pick them up afterwards. He groans at the sight and feels slightly disgusted with himself for being such a slob. He spends a few minutes gathering up the dishes just for his own peace of mind. He doesn't actually wash them, he just sticks them in the sink with a bit of water. It may not be much but at least they're all in the kitchen now and he can sleep better knowing he's not completely disgusting.

Although when he goes into his bedroom he's met with another unfortunate sight: his bed is absolutely covered with worn clothes. He has no choice but to clean it off before he can collapse and sleep for as long as he possibly can, and he knows full well that if he just shoves them all to the floor that he'll end up regretting it.

It's because of that little nagging voice in the back of his mind that he even finds the card Daisy gave him, still tucked into the pocket of the jeans he was wearing that night.

He's curious for a second, unable to remember what the card is before he smoothes it out and reads the writing on it.

"Dammit, Daisy," he mutters under his breath as he tosses his jeans into his hamper and goes to chuck the card right into the bin by his bed. He crumples it up, angrily thinking to himself about Daisy and the nerve she's got to even _suggest_ that he hire a prostitute, and gets rid of it without a second thought so he can get back to cleaning off his bed.

The problem is that even after he's cleaned off his bed and changed out of the clothes he's been wearing all day to climb into bed, he can't fall asleep. His mind goes back to the card and traitorously thinks about the last time he even _touched_ anyone in anything other than a friendly manner, which makes things… well, hard.

Nick can't even remember the last time he wanked, but even that doesn't seem like it would help matters at this point. He misses the warmth of another person next to him in bed; the touches, the kissing, everything that he simply can't do for himself.

He grumbles nonsense under his breath as he climbs out of bed and digs through his garbage to find the card, smoothing it out all over again as he lies back down.

The front of the card simply reads "LP Agency" with a phone number, which makes no sense to Nick whatsoever. It certainly doesn't sound like anything he would've expected for a prostitute, but then again it's not like he has any experience doing this in the first place. After all, soliciting money for sex isn't exactly legal so he supposes they have to do what they can do stay discreet.

He turns the card over in his hand and sees a message written on the back in Daisy's hand, "ask for Louis". Nick frowns as he reads it over a few times. Daisy hadn't told him to ask for anyone specific, she hadn't told him bloody anything about this card other than that he should call the number. The least she could've done was prepare him for whatever or whoever he may find on the other end of the line.

He glances at the clock, it's barely four in the afternoon so he really doesn't have an excuse to not try calling the number. He has no idea if it's run like a proper nine to five business, but if he doesn't at least try now there's a good chance he'll lose his nerve entirely and actually throw away the card for real.

Nick grabs his phone from the bedside table and takes a deep breath before he unlocks it and dials the number. He waits another minute or so before he presses the call button, trying to figure out just what exactly he's doing with his life by calling a phone number for a prostitute at four in the afternoon.

The line rings twice before it's answered by a male voice who politely says, "LP Agency, this is Liam, how may I direct your call?"

It's absolutely not what Nick was expecting. He really should just erase all expectations he has about this whole thing because he's absolutely going to continue being surprised.

"Erm, hi?" Nick clears his throat. "I was, uh, told to call this number?"

"How may I direct your call?" Liam repeats, sending Nick into a bit of a panic over what to say next.

"I'm… uh, looking for a…" Nick swallows harshly before he lowers his voice and whispers, "prostitute?"

"I'm terribly sorry sir, I believe you have the wrong number. Have a good day!"

The line goes dead immediately and Nick drops his phone and buries his head in his hands. He is absolutely, unequivocally unprepared for this and it's utterly embarrassing. He has to spend several minutes psyching himself up in order to call back, telling himself over and over not to use words like "prostitute" or "hooker" or any variation thereof because that's clearly not going to get him anywhere.

He has to be discreet. He can do this.

"I can do this," Nick repeats to himself as he dials the number again, holding his breath as he waits for the line to connect.

"LP Agency, this is Liam, how may I direct your call?" the same male voice greets Nick and he lets out a soft breath of relief.

"Yes, hi," Nick says as he clears his throat, "I was told to ask for Louis?"

"I'm sorry, we don't have a Louis here," Liam replies.

"Oh," Nick says softly, about to hang up when Liam speaks again.

"We do have a Louis," he says, pronouncing it differently than Nick just had, which makes Nick feel a little stupid, "would you like to make an appointment?"

"I… um, yes?" Nick laughs nervously and groans, "I'm sorry, I don't really know what I'm doing, my friend Daisy gave me this number and--"

"Daisy?" Liam chuckles, surprising Nick and making him feel a little less awkward but slightly suspicious at the same time, "are you Nick?"

"Y-Yes?"

"I've been expecting your call," Liam continues, "Daisy said it might take you a while to work up the nerve."

"She did, did she?" Nick laughs and shakes his head. "Why am I not surprised?"

"So, Louis, then?" Liam asks, returning to the business side of the conversation. "Would you like his availability?"

"Erm, yes?"

"You don't sound so sure," Liam says after a pause, sounding almost like he's frowning and Nick can't quite figure out how he's made this person he doesn't know frown at him over the phone.

"Well, Daisy didn't really give me any information so I'm kind of flying blind here," Nick says with a laugh, hoping he doesn't sound any more pathetic than he is.

"That's alright," Liam replies with a warm laugh, "would you like me to give you other consultant options besides Louis?"

"Might not be a bad idea," Nick answers with a relieved sigh.

"Okay!" Liam replies excitedly. "Now, Daisy told me that you prefer working with men so I'll skip over our list of lovely ladies and get started with the lads."

He clears his throat and Nick starts chewing on his thumbnail, partially nervous but mostly curious to hear what Liam has to offer. The comfort he finds in the ease and familiarity of Liam's voice has quelled his fears for the moment but there's no telling what will happen next.

"First up, we've got Niall. He's of a medium height, blonde with blue eyes, and he's Irish. He's usually who I recommend for our new clients because he's very easygoing and good for a laugh. He'll certainly make you feel comfortable if you've got a bit of nerves."

"He sounds lovely," Nick says, because he truly does. He may not be what Nick's looking for but that doesn't mean that Nick didn't appreciate hearing about him.

"Next we've got Harry. He's quite tall with long, curly brown hair, green eyes, and dimples to die for, as some of our clients say," Liam pauses to chuckle and Nick does too, "you probably think I'm joking but if you saw him you'd absolutely agree."

"I have no doubt that I would," Nick replies with another laugh. Harry also sounds like someone Nick might like but he's still not sure if it's the right choice.

"Alright, then we have Zayn--" Liam stops suddenly and clears his throat, "actually, um, he's no longer with our agency, sorry about that."

"That's alright," Nick says in a cautious tone, a little perplexed as to why Liam sounded slightly upset. It's entirely none of his business, but it doesn't stop him from wondering if the two were close.

"I'm sorry," Liam says, laughing suddenly, "here I am going on and on about everyone else when you first asked for Louis and I haven't told you anything about him!"

"I didn't even realize," Nick clears his throat, "what's he like?"

"He's also medium height, has light brown hair, bright blue eyes, and an arse fit for a-- oh for fuck's sake," Liam mumbles the last few words and Nick lets out a nervous laugh.

"What was that last bit?"

"It's-- oh god, it's not supposed to say that, Louis has been messing with my cards again, I'm so sorry!" Liam apologizes. "He keeps doing this, I'm so sorry, it's so unprofessional!"

"It's okay," Nick says, trying to keep from snickering at the idea of Louis swapping out whatever cards Liam uses when he talks to clients. Nick might not know much at all about him, but he likes him already. "I think… I might like to set up an appointment with him after all."

"Really? Fantastic!" Liam sounds rather relieved. "When is best for you?"

"Uhh, I don't know. When is he available?"

"He's available tonight, if you like!"

"Oh, um," Nick pauses as he weighs the decision in his mind. Truth be told, he's supposed to be taking the night off to rest and get some much needed sleep. But he really doesn't have any other reason not to agree to have Louis come by, especially when it might be the key to help him actually relax. "I suppose that would work?"

"Excellent. If you'll just give me your email, I'll send you all the information you'll need and you can confirm a time for your appointment in the reply, how's that sound?"

"Easy enough," Nick chuckles before he says his email address. "Thanks, umm, Liam, right?"

"That's me." Liam chuckles warmly. "Alright, I've sent you an email, Nick. Thanks for calling LP Agency, have a good night."

The line goes dead after Nick says goodbye and he lets out a long, deep breath as he tosses his phone aside. He needs a minute or two to himself before he checks his email because then he has to face the reality of what he's just done.

He's really going to have a prostitute over to his flat.

*

Nick isn't nervous, he's downright terrified.

After confirming details with Liam via email, his heart was pounding so fast that it was impossible for him to sit still even for a moment. He had to move, he had to do something, he couldn't just sit around and wait for Louis to show up - he'd go absolutely mad.

With half an hour to go before Louis is due to arrive, his flat is positively spotless. Nick feels a bit like a wreck and he's trying to figure out how he got himself involved in something that's supposed to help with his stress when it's actually making him even more stressed out than before. He's changed his clothes no less than four times since having gotten out of the shower but truthfully he's got no idea at all what to wear.

The very idea of just staying naked has crossed his mind more than once, but that seems just too ridiculous even given the line of work of his soon to be company. Nick can't help but think if he were in Louis' position and came to a client's house and found them in the nude that it would be a dreadfully awkward situation.

Nick slumps down at the foot of his bed and cradles his head in his hands as he tries not to agonize (again) over what he's done.

He's considered calling Daisy to ask for advice but he can't quite let himself give her the satisfaction of being right. If Louis turns out to be good for him, if only for a night, then he'll tell Daisy. Maybe.

There's a soft but firm knock on the door at precisely eight o'clock and Nick stares at the door for a moment, frozen in place by nerves until another knock comes and he scrambles to answer. He's still not quite sure what to expect when he opens it and reveals Louis on the other side, Liam's description of Louis only goes so far in Nick's mind.

Everything Nick had imagined disappears from his head in an instant when he sees the real thing standing in front of him, dressed in a denim jacket with an impossibly soft looking shirt underneath and jeans so tight that Nick is already fantasizing about the view from behind. His hair sweeps across his forehead in a fringe and there's a bit of stubble scattered across his sharp features, making Nick ache for the burn that comes from kissing someone with a beard for hours on end.

It's safe to say that Nick is already attracted to Louis, which will either make this easier or far more difficult in the long run.

Louis' eyes light up when he sees Nick, and he smiles with a hint of intent that makes Nick's knees go weak as he says, "Nick, I presume?"

Nick lets out a breathy chuckle and nods as he openly stares at Louis while standing stock still in the doorway. Louis' smile fades into a smirk and he laughs under his breath before he leans forward towards Nick, spiking his heart rate and making his breath catch.

"Might be a good idea to let me inside," he whispers.

"Yes, shit, of course," Nick shakes his head and clumsily steps aside, knocking his back against the door as he lets Louis come in.

"Don't worry," Louis says, still smirking as he passes by, "I don't bite."

"Unless I want you to?" Nick asks, stunning himself by being so forward. He probably would've immediately apologized if Louis didn't turn his head and give him a considering look, his smirk growing bigger as he looks Nick in the eyes.

"I'm not opposed to the idea," he replies as he turns his back to Nick and starts walking towards the living room. Nick lets out a sharp gasp as he closes the front door, taking a moment to press his forehead against the wood and catch his breath. It's going to be a long night.

Louis is sitting casually on Nick's sofa when he enters the living room, jacket off and looking like he belongs there and it does something funny to Nick's insides. They were already feeling twisty with nerves before Louis showed up and now Nick's afraid he might either vomit or pass out. He's not entirely keen on either outcome, but if Louis keeps looking at him the way he does then something embarrassing is sure to happen.

"So, um," Nick clears his throat, still standing several feet away from Louis as he nervously tugs at the hem of his shirt, "do we just…?"

Louis stares at him as he gestures awkwardly between the two of them. Nick isn't even sure what he wants to say or what he's trying to convey, but it doesn't seem to matter according to the look of amusement on Louis' face.

"Easing into it might be best," he says, "you seem a bit nervous."

Nick laughs and shakes his head, "I'm not nervous!"

"Really?" Louis gives him another considering look. "D'you know your shirt is inside out?"

"That's…" Nick looks down and curses under his breath; Louis is right. "It's a style thing," he says as he clears his throat again and tries not to look like he's lying.

"Very cutting edge," Louis replies with a nod, trying and failing to hide his smirk. Nick's cheeks are positively burning with embarrassment, but he finds himself laughing in spite of it all.

"Shut up," Nick mumbles as he starts taking his shirt off, intending to turn it inside out and put it back on, but Louis clears his throat before Nick pulls it on and he pauses.

"You could leave it off," Louis says with a shrug of his shoulders, "save us some trouble in the long run."

"I…" Nick swallows harshly and Louis smiles at him.

"Tell you what, I'll take mine off as well and then you can come sit next to me and we'll go from there," Louis says as he sits up and immediately pulls off his shirt. He lays it across the arm of the sofa before he settles back in his seat and gives Nick an expectant look.

Nick looks down at the shirt in his hands and then at Louis, considering his options for a moment and trying not to let his brain go haywire. After a short time of deliberation (probably just a few seconds, but to Nick it could've been hours for all he knows) he takes the few steps towards Louis and sits down next to him, laying his shirt on the opposite sofa arm.

"Better?" Louis asks.

"A bit," Nick laughs nervously, "still brickin' it, though."

"That's alright," Louis says with a smile as he slowly turns towards Nick, propping his arm on the back of the couch. "We don't have to do anything you're not comfortable with."

"It's not that," Nick says quickly, "I'm not like, new to this," he says as he gestures to Louis, eyes going wide when Louis raises his eyebrows, "I mean, not new to the boy on boy thing, I've done that before. Plenty of times."

"Uh-huh," Louis says with a nod, again trying not to smirk at Nick and failing miserably.

"I haven't, like, done _this_ ," Nick gestures to Louis again and sighs desperately, "it's been a while, alright?"

"That's okay," Louis replies, his expression softening as he moves a little closer. "We'll go slow."

"Slow," Nick agrees. "That's… that's probably best."

Louis reaches his right hand towards Nick's thigh and Nick follows it with his eyes, trying not to hold his breath until he makes contact. Just the one touch sends a shiver through Nick's body and he fights to keep still as Louis gently rubs his thumb against the denim of his jeans.

"Good?" he asks softly.

"Yeah," Nick says after swallowing harshly. He kind of hates that he's already getting hard and Louis has barely even touched him, but then again, it has been a while.

"Still good?" Louis asks as he drags his hand further up Nick's thigh, drawing closer to his groin and Nick bites his lip in anticipation and nods his head eagerly. He lets out a sharp breath when Louis presses the palm of his hand against his half-hard cock and then groans as Louis moves close enough that Nick can feel his breath on his skin.

"Can I…" Nick turns his head towards Louis and drops his gaze to Louis' lips, "can I kiss you?"

Louis smiles for a second before he leans in and presses his mouth to Nick's, kissing him softly at first but harder when Nick starts kissing back. Nick slides his hand into Louis' hair and gives it an experimental tug, finding Louis' form of retaliation is to squeeze where his hand is pressed firmly against his cock. Nick moans into Louis' mouth and bucks his hips up, encouraging him to go further as they keep kissing.

Louis swings his leg over Nick's and settles himself in Nick's lap, dropping his other hand down so he can unbutton the top of Nick's jeans. He tries to break away from the kiss to ask if it's alright but Nick won't let him. He lifts his hips up in an effort to let Louis know everything is still good and puts his free hand on Louis' hip, hesitating for a moment before he slides it down further and grabs a handful of his arse. Louis bucks his hips forward at the same time he manages to get Nick's zipper down and for a moment their hips press together and they both moan into the other's mouth.

"Fuck," Nick groans against Louis' mouth, "you've got a great arse." He emphasizes his statement by squeezing it again and Louis laughs breathlessly.

"S'my best asset," he says cheekily, quickly gaining the upper hand as he pulls Nick's cock out from his pants and wraps his hand around it. Nick shuts his eyes and tips his head back onto the sofa, moaning as Louis starts stroking him.

"Shit," he breathes out, feeling too hot even with his shirt off. He slides his hand out of Louis' hair and down the span of the smooth skin of his naked back before joining his other on Louis' arse.

"This what you want?" Louis asks, putting his mouth to Nick's ear as he twists his wrist and makes Nick moan again. "Want my mouth instead? Or my arse?"

"God, Louis," Nick gasps, "d-don't think I'll last…"

"Alright," Louis says, tugging on Nick's ear with his teeth before he breathes out, "mouth it is, then."

He slides off Nick's lap with ease, despite Nick's efforts to try and keep a hold of his arse, and before Nick knows quite what's happening Louis' mouth is wrapped around the head of his cock. Nick groans and curses loudly as Louis pulls his hips away from the couch, pushing his cock further into his mouth.

"Shit, your mouth is fucking incredible," Nick moans desperately as Louis sucks him down. He slides his hands into Louis' hair and uses both to tug, enjoying the way it makes Louis moan around his cock.

Louis pulls off slowly, wrapping his hand around Nick and stroking so he doesn't go without being taken care of, and looks up at Nick with wild eyes and a red mouth. Nick practically melts at the sight, losing track of his senses for a moment and completely missing what Louis asks him.

"What was that?"

"Want to come on my face?" Louis asks again, licking his lips for emphasis.

" _Fuck_ yes," Nick grunts as Louis teases his slit with the tip of his tongue and starts stroking him faster, driving him closer to the edge of his orgasm with every passing second.

Nick's hips start to buck up into Louis' hand as he gets close, and he barely manages a warning before he comes all over Louis' face. He watches as Louis wraps his mouth around the head of his cock and sucks the last bit of come from it, leaving Nick half-wishing he could get hard again immediately if only to watch Louis suck him off all over again.

"Fuck," Nick breathes out once Louis pulls off, sliding his finger through the come on his cheek before he sucks it into his mouth with a grin.

"Alright if I go wash up?" he asks.

"Yeah," Nick answers breathlessly, "bathroom's just through there." He points down the hallway and Louis gets up, squeezing Nick's knee before he leaves the room.

Nick can't even think about moving at the moment, embarrassingly tired after one round. It's not until Louis comes back in and sits down next to him that he realizes something very important.

"You didn't come," he says, eyeing Louis' hard-on in his jeans.

"Not about me, is it?"

Nick frowns. "That's shit. I want you to come too."

"Do you?" Louis raises his eyebrows. "How do you want me to come?"

Nick watches as Louis slowly traces a line down his own chest with his fingers, stopping at the brim of his jeans and tapping the button with one fingertip. Nick looks Louis in the eye to give him the go-ahead to continue and the corner of Louis' mouth turns up in a smirk as he pops the button open and starts to pull the zipper down.

"Like this?" Louis asks as he slips his hand under his pants and starts stroking himself, still hidden underneath the fabric.

"Can I see?" Nick asks, shifting over on the couch so he's closer to Louis, who grins at him as he pulls his pants down with his free hand.

"Better?"

Nick bites his lip as he watches Louis touch himself, doing exactly what he likes and what he knows will get him off. It's enough to make Nick feel that familiar pull in the pit of his stomach, make his fingers itch to reach out and touch Louis again.

"Keep going," he breathes out as he inches closer, half-crawling on top of Louis to bring their mouths together again while still leaving him enough room to keep touching himself.

"I see how it is," Louis mumbles against Nick's mouth, "make me do all the work, huh?"

"I can help," Nick murmurs, sucking on Louis' bottom lip as he wraps his hand around Louis' and urges him to go a little faster. He hears the breath catch in Louis' throat before the moan slips out and Louis starts kissing him harder, their hands working together to get him off.

Nick all but pins Louis to the couch as he kisses him filthily, all tongues and teeth as Louis starts shaking underneath him. He groans into Nick's mouth as he starts to come, dripping over their hands and onto his own stomach. Louis inhales sharply when the feel of Nick's hand over his own on his cock gets to be too much, and Nick pulls away after one more kiss and a gentle nip at Louis' lips.

He turns to press his back into the couch, sticking close to Louis as he catches his breath and looks down at his hand. If this were a normal hook-up, there's a good chance he'd clean off his hand himself while entertaining the idea of another round. And even though Louis already swallowed some of his come earlier, Nick is apprehensive about doing the same.

"Made a mess of myself all over again," Louis says in a low tone with a breathy chuckle, snapping Nick out of his thoughts. "Back in a tick."

When Louis returns he's got a flannel in one hand which he passes to Nick with an easy smile. Nick takes it and returns the smile, cleaning off his hand while Louis settles in next to him again.

"Feel better?" Louis asks.

"Loads," Nick replies with a laugh as he turns to look at Louis. "Cheers."

Louis smiles widely. "Glad I could help."

*

Nick wakes up the following morning feeling better than he has in, well, it could be years for all he knows given the amount of stress he's been under. He doesn't think about Louis while he lies in bed for a few minutes after waking up, he doesn't think about him after he stretches and goes about his morning routine. Nick's only thinking about the day ahead of him as he gets dressed, pausing only to wonder about whether he's got anything for breakfast in his kitchen.

Louis only crosses his mind when he passes through the living room and he glances at the sofa for all of two seconds. A smile crosses his face when he thinks about the lovely boy who sat there the night before and he blushes a little when he remembers how it felt to press him into the cushions, what it sounded like when Louis came.

Nick still has a smile on his face when he walks into the studio at half past seven, half-expecting to get told off by Eleanor for coming in a half hour earlier than she told him to, but instead she smiles when she sees him come in.

"You look loads better today," Eleanor says as she follows Nick into his own office.

"Thanks?" Nick blinks, unsure if she meant it to be as insulting as it sounds. He suspects not because she's an absolute sweetheart, but still.

"I told you some sleep would do you a world of good," she remarks brightly, smiling at Nick before she launches into his schedule for the day.

Nick bites his tongue before he says something stupid like "actually, I had a romp with a hooker last night and it was glorious, how was your evening?" The last thing he needs is to give Eleanor something else to judge him about, god knows she's got enough already.

The morning goes so smoothly that Nick can't help but wonder when the other shoe is going to drop. Surely something has to go wrong soon to even out his karma, but he's hoping that maybe the universe will wait to fuck up his life until after Fashion Week is over.

Eleanor buzzes his phone just around lunchtime to let him know he's got a phone call and Nick can tell by the tone of her voice that it's not work-related.

"Who is it?" he asks suspiciously.

Eleanor hesitates before saying, "Daisy," and Nick heaves a long-suffering sigh.

"She must have my flat bugged or something," he mutters under his breath before telling Eleanor to put her through. "Hi, love," he greets brightly, keeping his phone on speaker so he can continue to work through the phone call.

"Hi," Daisy replies, her glee already present in her voice. "So…"

"So?" Nick parrots as he tries to keep up the charade that he has no idea why Daisy's calling.

"Don't play dumb with me, Grimshaw. You know I know."

"Know what?"

"I know that you had a prostitute over to your flat last night," Daisy says loudly, causing Nick to scramble to grab his phone off the hook so it'll take Daisy off speaker. She cackles in his ear like she knew all along that her voice could be heard by practically anyone on Nick's staff.

"Jesus," Nick breathes out, "you don't pull your punches, do you?"

"Not with you, love."

Nick huffs. "How do you even know about it? Did you bug my flat?"

"No, silly, friend of a friend told me." Daisy hums. "So, how was it?"

Nick groans under his breath, already going red at the thought of talking about his night with Louis. "It was… good."

"Just good?" Daisy's tone makes it sound like she's frowning and Nick huffs.

"Better than good, I just… I don't know what to say."

"Well, did you like him?"

Nick groans again and fidgets with the cord connecting his phone to its cradle. "Y'know you didn't tell me anything about him, right? I had no idea what to expect when he showed up."

"And?"

"You didn't…" Nick lets out a sharp breath and lowers his voice as though he's worried someone else might be listening in, "you didn't bloody tell me Louis was a twink!"

"Oh, love," Daisy hums apologetically, "was that a problem?"

"No," Nick answers quickly and then whimpers, "which _makes_ it a problem."

"Oh, really?" Nick can hear her smirk, all traces of apology gone from her voice.

"Oh, fuck off, Dais. You knew he was exactly my type, didn't you?"

"I told you you'd have a good time," she replies, "aren't you glad you listened to me?"

"I'm not going to say yes, just out of spite," Nick laughs. "You're unbearable, you know that?"

"But you love me anyway." Daisy giggles. "So, when are you seeing him again?"

Nick sputters. "It wasn't a _date,_  Daisy! It's not like I can call him up and invite him to drinks or summat."

"But you can call him for round two," Daisy says, "or did you go for rounds one and two all at once, you naughty boy?"

"God, shut up," Nick says as he continues to laugh, "I'm bright fucking red, I hope you're happy."

"Delighted, love. Now are you going to give me details or am I going to have to come down there and drag them out of you?"

Daisy doesn't let Nick off the phone until he's gone over absolutely every inch of his night with Louis and promised that he'll book another appointment soon. Nick thinks it'd be endearing if it wasn't a bit creepy that Daisy's so concerned with his sex life, but she is his best friend after all and she just wants to make sure he's happy.

The problem is Nick's productivity decreases dramatically after he hangs up with Daisy because now all he can think about is Louis. He catches himself staring longingly at the phone too many times for it to be a coincidence and he scolds himself after every single one, thinking to himself that he's almost no better than a schoolgirl with a crush.

Nick groans as he puts his head down on his desk as the thought sinks in; he can't possibly have a _crush_ on Louis. It was only one night, after all, and besides, Louis is a prostitute. Nick cannot have a crush on a _prostitute._ He just… liked him, is all. And he hadn't gotten off in a long time and it was _fantastic_ so that must be why his mind won't let up on the idea of having Louis around again.

This, of course, brings Nick to the conclusion that he has to have Louis over again, just once more to get it out of his system. He just needs one more good lay and then his mind will be clear and focused on what he's been working towards for ages. That's all.

The fact that Nick has to clench and unclench his fists a few times to get his fingers to stop shaking so he can unlock his phone has nothing at all to do with nerves, it's just his body telling him he needs a snack, or something. Nick makes a mental note to grab a granola bar or something after he makes this phone call, although all other thoughts are immediately pushed out of his head as soon as Liam answers.

"LP Agency, this is Liam, how may I direct your call?"

"Hi Liam," Nick says a little breathlessly, "it's, um, Nick? I called yesterday, and--"

"Hi, Nick!" Liam replies warmly. "Are you calling to book another appointment with Louis?"

"Umm, I…" Nick's mouth goes dry and his throat feels a bit like it's closing up, making it extremely difficult to answer Liam's question.

"Or, were you not satisfied with your previous appointment?" Liam asks, his voice switching to apologetic immediately. "I can offer you an appointment with another one of our consultants, if you like."

"N-No, no!" Nick stutters as he lets out a slightly hysterical laugh, "sorry, no, Louis was perfect, I just…" he clears his throat, "sorry, I got a bit nervous again, is all."

"I understand," Liam says with a low chuckle, "no worries. So, you would like another appointment with Louis?"

"Yes," Nick breathes a sigh of relief, "yes, I would like to do that."

"For tonight?"

Nick waits a beat. "Is that too soon?"

"He's available, if that's what you're asking." Liam laughs softly. "Otherwise, it's really none of my business."

Nick stifles a groan. Is he going to come off desperate if he books Louis for two nights in a row? He hadn't thought of that until just now, but he can't help but think if he puts it off for another night then he's just going to spend the rest of the afternoon, evening, and all day tomorrow anxiously waiting for his appointment.

"Yeah, tonight's good." Nick exhales deeply again. "Let's do that."

"Alright," Liam replies. "I've sent you an email with the details, Nick. Thanks for calling LP Agency, have a good night."

Nick drops his phone onto his desk and leans back in his chair as he buries his head in his hands, hardly able to believe that he's gotten himself into this mess. He's got half a mind to text Daisy and tell her off for perpetuating his madness, but then he'd have to admit that he booked Louis for another night and that is _not_ something he wants to let her know just yet.

"Alright, enough," Nick mutters to himself as he straightens up in his chair, pushing his phone off to the side of his desk so he can get back to work. He can't spend the rest of the afternoon thinking about later tonight, no matter how much he wants to.

*

Nick is under the impression that he's far more prepared for Louis' visit that night than he was the night before, no longer held hostage by nerves over whether or not he'd like Louis and wondering just how awkward it was going to be. They've already kissed, seen and touched each other's dicks, there can't be anything more for Nick to worry about.

Realization hits him when he's in the middle of fussing with his hair and his knees go so weak that he has to grab onto his sink just to keep himself standing: he's probably going to _fuck_ Louis tonight. Nick ends up sitting down on his bathroom floor as he takes one deep breath after another, his mind flooded with memories of Louis' arse - how it looked in his jeans, how it felt under his hands - and suddenly Nick is hard in his trousers with still half an hour before Louis is even due to show up.

"Get a fucking grip," he tells himself as he lays a harsh slap to the side of his face. He winces as his cheek burns from the impact but reminds himself that it's for the best, he can't be this overwhelmingly obvious when Louis comes over.

It's pathetic, in his opinion, that he's this desperate. He tries to placate himself by remembering the last time he had proper sex and insisting that it hasn't been _that_ long… only, he can't quite remember when that last time actually happened.

"Oh god," he mutters as he covers his face with his hands. "This is so stupid, I'm the biggest fucking idiot in London, _fuck_!"

He stays curled up on the floor of his bathroom for ages trying to calm himself down, not even thinking about how much time he's spending doing practically nothing until he hears the doorbell ring. He jumps at the sound and panics as he grabs his phone from the top of the sink, confirming his fears that he's gone and wasted half an hour and now Louis is on his doorstep.

"Fuck," he yelps as he scrambles to his feet, pausing for a second to check his reflection in the mirror but giving up quickly when the doorbell rings again. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" he keeps repeating as he dashes through his flat towards the front door.

He forces himself to pause just before reaching for the handle, giving himself one last chance to calm the fuck down. If he can just pretend he's calm, cool, and collected then maybe Louis won't think he's as much of a twat as he seems to be.

All of his nerves don't exactly disappear when he opens the door and sees Louis waiting patiently on the other side, but Nick definitely feels enormously relieved to see the small smile on Louis' face.

"Was starting to think you didn't want to see me after all," Louis quips as he stuffs his hands into his jacket pockets. He's dressed in a similar manner as the night before but Nick doesn't let himself get lost in staring at him.

"Of course not," he breathes out as he steps aside, "c'mon in."

"Cheers," Louis replies as he walks forward, shivering slightly. "S'cold today."

"You should wear a proper jacket," Nick says and Louis laughs.

"Those big puffy jackets do nothing for me. Denim is a much better look, don't you think?" He grins wickedly as he takes his hands out of his pockets and starts pulling his jacket off his shoulders.

"You could wear less underneath a puffy jacket," Nick says as he watches Louis very carefully, "less is more, after all."

"So next time," Louis says as he steps closer to Nick, dropping his jacket to the floor as he reaches out for Nick's hands, "I should wear _just_ a puffy jacket?"

Nick groans a little as Louis pulls his hands forward to slip under the hem of his shirt. Nick takes the lead and presses his fingers into Louis' side, smiling when the drag of his nails against Louis' bare skin makes him shiver.

"Less nervous today?" Louis asks quietly as Nick pushes his shirt up, tracing lines over the exposed skin with his fingers as his eyes dart upwards to meet Louis'.

"All the puffy jacket talk," Nick says with a smile, "perfect icebreaker."

Louis grins as he wraps his hands around Nick's wrists and slowly pulls them out from underneath his shirt and then starts walking backwards towards the living room. Nick glances down at where his jacket has been left in the hallway by the door, but Louis doesn't seem bothered by it at all.

"Sofa again?" Louis asks and Nick swallows as he darts his eyes towards the hallway leading to his bedroom.

"Actually, I was thinking…"

Louis follows his eyes and chuckles under his breath when he turns back to look at Nick. The look on his face is enough to make Nick feel like he's blushing absolutely everywhere, evidently not as smooth as he wishes he could be.

"Even better," Louis replies as he lets go of Nick's wrists and starts walking towards his bedroom, swinging his hips as he goes.

Nick follows quickly but tries not to be overeager about it, despite the fact that just looking at Louis' arse makes his heart rate speed up considerably. Louis sits down at the foot of the bed and leans back on his arms as he smiles at Nick, who's back to openly staring at him and wondering just when it was that he got so hard already.

"Join me?" Louis asks softly, lifting one hand and reaching out towards Nick. It doesn't take long for Nick to cross the room and crawl on top of Louis, pinning him to the bed as their mouths meet in a hungry kiss. Nick presses his hips down against Louis and moans into his mouth when Louis shifts underneath him and slips his hands under Nick's shirt to touch his bare skin.

Nick is so hard already that his cock positively aches every time Louis' hips buck up against him, but he wants to make this last for as long as he possibly can. He props one arm up over Louis' head for leverage and he keeps kissing him as his other slips between them and presses hard against where Louis' cock is growing steadily harder in his jeans.

Louis moans and whimpers as Nick breaks the kiss and rolls to one side so he can watch the look on Louis' face turn as he starts rubbing him through his jeans. Louis' eyes fly open and he gasps when Nick squeezes his cock, muttering under his breath before he reaches for the button on Nick's jeans.

Nick ducks down and kisses Louis' neck, biting and sucking at the skin there to hear the sounds Louis makes as he keeps touching him, teasing him.

"Can I fuck you?" Nick whispers in his ear, just as Louis pulls down on the zipper of his jeans and sticks his hand inside Nick's pants to get at his cock.

"Yeah," Louis breathes out as Nick groans in his ear at the feeling of Louis' hand wrapped around him. "Yeah, want you to."

"Yeah?" Nick gasps as his hips jerk forward. "Wanna fuck you, want your arse so much."

Nick would normally cringe at this sort of dirty talk, it sounds stupid in his head and even more so out loud but the way Louis reacts to it makes him want to keep going. Louis tries to press their bodies together again, like he wants to get Nick's cock in him right this second even though they're both still fully clothed. It's a bit overwhelming for Nick, and for a moment he starts to forget that he's paid Louis for this time because it almost feels like there's something more between them - but he can't let himself stay on that track.

"Hold on," Nick says as he rolls onto his back, away from Louis as he reaches for the drawer pull of his bedside table. He has to sit up in order to successfully grab the bottle of lube that's stashed somewhere in there along with a condom, and by the time he turns back he sees that Louis has already stripped out of his shirt and jeans. He smiles cheekily at Nick who stares back at him with wide eyes and an open mouth, his gaze drawn to where Louis is palming himself through his pants.

"Find what you're looking for?"

"You could say that," Nick replies as he sets down the lube and condom in order to take off his own shirt. He crawls back on top of Louis with his jeans still on and leans down for a kiss as he hooks his thumb in the waistband of Louis' pants and tugs them down his thighs. Louis lifts his hips and helps to take off his pants, shivering when Nick runs his hand back up his leg and over his cock.

Nick pulls away from Louis' mouth to grab the lube and slick up his fingers before he reaches between Louis' legs and presses one wet finger against his hole. Louis shakes and gasps, spreading his legs as he wraps his arms around Nick's neck and pulls him back in for another kiss. Nick groans into Louis' mouth as he starts working his finger further in, growing impossibly harder when he feels how tight Louis is just around his finger.

He pushes in a second finger and Louis breaks away to gasp, rocking his hips down onto Nick's fingers and pushing them even further inside. Nick watches as Louis fucks himself on his fingers, his eyes shut and his mouth open in a silent moan.

"Like that?" Nick breathes, laughing softly when Louis nods.

"Another," Louis begs, "please."

"Alright," Nick says quickly as he squeezes more lube onto his fingers and slips his ring finger in alongside the other two. Louis lets out a long moan and clutches at Nick's neck, digging his nails into the skin hard enough to leave marks. Nick has to lean down and press his face against Louis' neck, he can't look at Louis' face without wanting to kiss him or try and make him come with just his fingers.

"Nick," Louis whispers with a shaky breath, "Nick, m'ready, fuck me."

"You sure?" Nick asks, his mouth hot against Louis' neck as he pushes his fingers in just a little deeper to make Louis arch his back and cry out.

"Yes, _fuck_ , I'm sure," he pants.

"Okay, okay," Nick laughs breathlessly as he pulls his fingers out, only just remembering then that he still has to take his trousers off. Louis laughs as he tries to do it one handed, keeping his lube-slick fingers away from his button and zipper which proves to be far more difficult than Nick thought.

Louis ends up batting his hands away and doing it himself, pulling Nick's trousers and pants off all in one go. Nick stares at him as Louis crawls up his legs and hovers over him, leaning down to nip at Nick's lips as he reaches for the condom.

"How do you want me?" he asks as he rips open the condom wrapper and strokes Nick's cock a few times before starting to roll the condom down.

Nick can't think, he can't even _breathe_ with Louis watching him like this while touching his cock. The most he can manage is a strangled moan which only makes Louis smirk.

"Want me to ride you? Sit on your cock and fuck myself with it?" Louis waits a moment before he slides off Nick's lap and gets on his hands and knees beside him with his arse facing Nick, looking over his shoulder as he says, "or would you rather fuck me like this? Make me take it any way you want to give it to me?"

"Christ," Nick chokes out as he reaches down and squeezes his cock, trying to calm himself so he doesn't come as soon as he gets inside of Louis.

"I'll take that as a yes," Louis says with a chuckle as he drops to his elbows and all but presents his arse to Nick.

"Can't say no to that, can I?" Nick mutters as he gets up onto his knees and positions himself behind Louis, putting both of his hands on his arse and squeezing for a moment before he puts the head of his cock against Louis' hole.

Nick holds his breath as he pushes in, his grip on Louis' arse growing tighter the further he gets until his hips are pressed against Louis and he leans down to cover Louis' body with his own. Louis is shaking a little, his breath coming in pants as Nick starts moving his hips slowly.

"You feel so good," Nick breathes into Louis' ear, keeping one hand on his hips as he props himself up with the other. "So tight, unbelievable."

Louis moans when Nick pulls halfway out and shoves back in, and he starts pushing his hips back against Nick's in tandem with his thrusts. Nick sits up straight again and starts thrusting faster, gripping Louis' hips with both of his hands as his breath comes in short bursts between his groans.

"D'you like that?" Nick grunts.

"Yeah," Louis replies breathlessly, spurring Nick on until he's rambling nonstop.

"Yeah, bet you do. Feels so good, gonna come so hard in your tight, little arse. Can you come like this? Just from me fucking you?"

Louis groans, deep and guttural before he says, "keep fucking me like that and I will."

"Cheeky," Nick moans, "bet you will. Can't wait to see it, wanna hear you come, bet you look so good coming around my cock."

"Nick," Louis whimpers and Nick can _feel_ it, he can feel Louis getting closer and he knows he's not far off either. He presses his chest to Louis' back again, wraps his hand around Louis' cock just before he starts coming. Nick closes his eyes and strokes him through it as Louis tightens around him and he thrusts against him twice more before he comes, moaning into Louis' ear.

Nick doesn't know how Louis doesn't just collapse underneath him after all that, because he certainly feels like he's not going to be able to move for the next century or so. The most he can manage is to slowly pull out of Louis and tumble down onto the bed next to him, lying on his back and staring at the ceiling as he tries to catch his breath.

Louis lays down on his side, groaning softly as he stretches and looks at Nick with a sly smile.

"What?" Nick asks.

"You've got quite the mouth," Louis says, far too amused for someone who just got fucked. Nick is a little put out that Louis isn't as exhausted as he feels, but it's overshadowed by the sheer amount of embarrassment as he remembers all the shit he said in the heat of the moment.

"Oh god," he mutters as he hides his face. "Shut up, you're one to talk."

"Part of the package, innit?"

Nick turns his head to glare at Louis, but he can't help but crack a smile when Louis is staring back at him with the biggest grin he's ever seen.

"Are you this cheeky with everyone or am I just lucky?"

Louis laughs under his breath and looks down at the bed, avoiding Nick's eyes as he says, "sometimes it gets me into trouble."

"What, like you get a spanking for it?"

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Louis shakes his head. "You're just as cheeky as I am."

"I'm not, usually." Nick tries to hide his grin. "You bring it out of me, or something."

Louis hums thoughtfully as he pulls Nick's hand away from his face. "Not such a terrible thing, is it?"

Nick glances at their hands, not quite intertwined but Louis hasn't pulled away and Nick's not planning on it, and smiles.

"Not at all."

*

Here's the problem with Nick thinking one more appointment with Louis would get everything out of his system: it was total bullshit. In the span of a week, Nick books three more appointments with Louis and during each one they have _incredible_ sex and then actually spend time talking to each other as though they'd been on a proper date. Now Nick has an even bigger problem: his crush on Louis is only getting bigger.

He refuses to talk to Daisy about it at all, meaning he avoids her texts and calls because he can't actually lie to her about seeing Louis again what with her "friend of a friend" nonsense always ratting him out. But if he's not talking to Daisy then he's not talking about it to anyone at all, and that's only going to do Nick's head in faster.

As much as he refuses to admit it aloud, Nick starts missing Louis the moment he walks out the door. The nights when Louis comes over are nearly worse than the nights he doesn't, if only because Nick has to go from having this beautiful boy in his bed to spending the night alone. He's never asked Louis to stay, partly because he can't fathom how much that would actually cost him but mostly because he's too fucking scared to actually do it.

The one thing he can take comfort in is the fact that his work isn't suffering because of his silly little crush. He's more focused than ever on his line and unlike before when he was running himself ragged, he's getting more done in less time because his head is clear and focused on the bigger picture of it all. Eleanor doesn't comment on it but every so often Nick catches her giving him this look that lets him know that she's onto him, even if she has no idea what he's been up to.

He tries not to acknowledge it, he even tries to ignore it completely but it's hard for him to ignore his personal assistant for very long given his tight schedule. She's just always around, usually being helpful, but sometimes Nick feels her eyes on him and he gets a nervous shiver down his spine as though she can see right through his nonchalant exterior and knows exactly what he's been doing.

Nick can't help it. He cracks.

"What?!" he snaps at her one afternoon, so abrupt that he makes her flinch and he immediately feels sorry for startling her.

"I didn't say anything?" she replies in a confused tone, but she's still giving him that _look._

"You keep staring at me, like I've grown a hunchback or something, it's weird."

"Well, you haven't, if that's any consolation." Nick rolls his eyes.

"Thank you, Miss Smarty-Pants." He chuckles. "Come out with it, then."

"It's nothing, really."

"It's something, Eleanor, otherwise I wouldn't keep catching you doing it."

"I'm sorry!" She laughs. "It's just… you seem… different? Like, happy."

"As opposed to the miserable sod I was before?" Nick laughs again and Eleanor shrugs one shoulder as she laughs along with him.

"You weren't that bad," she says with a glint of mischief in her eyes. "I dunno, it's just different. Not in a bad way, obviously, it's nice to see you like this."

"Thanks?" Nick laughs, softer this time. He's not sure how he managed to surround himself with people who are so invested in his happiness, and he's definitely not sure if it's a good or bad thing. For the moment, he's going to assume it's a good thing.

"You're not going to tell me what's caused it, are you?"

"Not a chance, love." Nick grins. "There are some things that should remain personal, not broadcasted throughout the office."

Eleanor rolls her eyes. "I'm not the office gossip, don't go getting me confused with Sophia."

"You're both too nosy for your own good," Nick says with a laugh. "Now stop staring at me and go back to work!"

"Alright, alright." Eleanor sighs as she heads for the door, pausing just before she leaves Nick's office. "I absolutely win the bet, though."

"Hang on, what bet?" Nick calls after her.

"The bet on whether or not you'd get some before Fashion Week," Eleanor replies with a dirty grin before she disappears through the door and pulls it closed behind her.

Nick slides down in his chair and groans. His employees are the actual worst.

He tries his best not to rush out of the office that evening, ignoring the pointed look he receives from Eleanor when he passes by her desk. He's sure that the moment he's out the door she'll be on the phone with Sophia, gossiping away.

"Go home," he calls over his shoulder, "you're of no more use to me today."

"If you say so," Eleanor calls back. "Don't forget, you still need to give me an answer about whether or not you're bringing a date to your opening!"

Nick waves his hand at her as the lift doors ahead of him open and he steps inside, making sure not to turn around so Eleanor won't see his cheeks turning red. He's been avoiding the question for a week, only made worse by their earlier conversation that day.

The worst part is that he's actually been _considering_ asking Louis to come even though he knows it's an entirely ridiculous idea. Their "dates" of late have been lulling him into some false sense of security, making him wonder that they could perhaps have some semblance of a relationship apart from Nick paying Louis for sex.

Nick groans and presses his forehead against the cool metal of the lift doors as he releases a long breath. He must be going mad or something if he actually thinks he could have a relationship with a prostitute.

"Fuck," he grumbles, hating the fact that he can't put Louis' line of work aside and think of him as _himself_ and not what he does for a living. He is, after all, an actual human being.

Nick continues grappling with his feelings as he makes his way back to his empty flat, once again reminding him of how pathetic he truly is. He's got an appointment with Louis later tonight but apart from that, he's all alone. Part of him wants to call Liam and see if he can cancel the appointment entirely and just spend the rest of the night curled up in his bed pretending the outside world doesn't exist, but the slightly more rational part (in some respects, anyway) reminds him that being a shut-in doesn't bode well for his sanity either.

He doesn't have very long to dwell on his mess of feelings, having only given himself an hour between when he got home and when Louis is due to show up. Nick was planning on have a quick bite to eat and a shower but the moment he steps through the door he's got his phone out and is dialing Daisy's number. He can't keep it all inside any longer or else it's going to drive him crazy.

Of course, it's the one time she doesn't answer.

"For fuck's sake," Nick breathes out as her voicemail echoes in her ear, asking him to leave a message. "Hi Dais, it's me. Just… um, wanted to chat. Call me back, yeah?"

Nick groans loudly, cursing Daisy for not answering her phone and being unavailable to help him in his time of need. He drags himself to the kitchen and pokes around in his fridge before deciding he's not hungry at all and he should just shower instead.

Daisy hasn't called him back in the time it takes him to shower, and there's still no answer when he tries ringing her again. He sends her a text that reads _CALL ME!!_ in the hopes that she'll get in touch with him before Louis comes over.

Nick is left feeling on edge and staring at his phone, watching the minutes tick by without a phone call from Daisy. When Louis arrives Nick is relieved to see him, because somehow having Louis here with him makes him forget about his worries for the time being.

"Happy to see me?" Louis asks with a smirk when Nick presses him up against the wall of his bedroom. Nick groans as Louis slips his hand down between them and cups his hand against the zipper of Nick's jeans, losing all train of thought as Louis' teeth nip at the tender skin of his neck.

"You could say that," Nick breathes out hotly, laughing when he feels Louis grin against his neck. Nick slides his hands down Louis' body and wraps them around to grab his arse and push their hips together, making Louis gasp into the crook of his neck.

Nick is desperate to get Louis' clothes off by the time he pins Louis to his bed, kissing him hard and deep as they rut against each other. Nick's learned by now that Louis makes the loveliest whimpering sounds when his hands are pinned above his head, so he makes sure to do it as often as he can.

"Nick," Louis gasps as he transfers hold of Louis' wrists to just one hand so he can use the other to ruck up Louis' shirt and start trailing his lips down his chest. As he distracts Louis with kissing his bare skin, Nick's free hand falls to the button on Louis' jeans and undoes it, pulling the zipper down quickly after.

Nick lets out a soft groan into the swell of Louis' belly when he looks down to see the outline of Louis' cock only covered by his pants in the open space of his jeans. Louis whimpers as Nick slowly pulls his pants away from his body, letting out a strangled cry when Nick blows a hot breath over the head of his cock.

"Wanna taste you," Nick mutters, more to Louis' cock than anything else, and Louis whines in reply.

"Yes, please, _yes_!"

Nick smirks, about to tell Louis how gorgeous he looks when he's all spread out underneath him or perhaps about to ask him to beg a little more because he loves to hear the desperation in his voice, but the moment is lost when Nick's phone starts ringing loudly from inside his pocket.

Never before has Nick hated the sound of a marimba more than he does in this moment.

"Jesus fucking--" he curses, letting go of Louis entirely as he fumbles to unearth his phone and mute the damn ringtone as quickly as he can. He curses again when he sees Daisy's name on the screen - of _course_ she'd call back now - and quickly switches his phone to vibrate so as to not be interrupted again before he puts his phone on the nightstand and turns back to Louis.

He doesn't expect to see Louis' hands firmly clasped over his mouth, nor does he expect to see Louis actually shaking from trying to hold back his laughter.

"Think that's funny, do you?" Nick asks, trying to sound stern but it comes out impossibly amused.

"I do, actually," Louis replies, letting his laughter ring out as Nick crawls back over top of him. Nick stares down at him, feeling a warmth in the pit of his stomach at the sight of Louis smiling fondly up at him that he _knows_ has nothing to do with arousal, and shakes his head before he leans down to kiss him.

"See if I suck you off now," he threatens as he starts kissing Louis' neck, coming up for air when Louis whines, pouting in his direction.

"I can make it worth your while," Louis whispers, putting his lips to Nick's ear and sending a shiver through his whole body.

"Yeah?" Nick manages to say, his throat tight as Louis somehow slips both of his hands into Nick's jeans and wraps them around his cock.

"Yeah," Louis replies breathlessly, "could suck you off too, if you like. Or keep wanking you just like this--" Louis squeezes Nick's cock for emphasis, "--until you come all over me."

"Jesus," Nick grunts as his hips buck upwards into Louis' hands.

"You like that, don't you?" Louis hums, lifting his head to bite and suck at the skin of Nick's neck. "Like the idea of getting me all messy, marking me up?"

"Fuck, _yes_ ," Nick groans, unable to keep himself from agreeing because nothing in the world sounds better to him than that right now. He doesn't even spare a thought about how dangerous it is for him to be in this deep, it's already too late.

"C'mon then," Louis says as he lets go of Nick's cock and pulls his head down so they can kiss before he speaks again, "suck me off and then you can do whatever you want to me."

"Alright, bossy," Nick says, drawing Louis in for one more snog before he slides down the bed. He nips at Louis' hipbones and sucks a mark on both sides, paying no attention to Louis' cock until he starts whining.

"Quit teasing."

Nick looks up at him and grins, keeping their eyes connected as he goes to lick at the head of Louis' cock. Louis' eyes roll into the back of his head and he collapses back onto the bed, letting out a long moan as Nick wraps his mouth around him and starts sucking.

Louis writhes around underneath him but Nick knows by now how to pin his hips just right to keep Louis from shoving his cock too far down Nick's throat. It's thrilling, the way Nick can make Louis fall apart with just a few simple touches. He's loud, much louder than he was the first night he came to Nick's flat, and it only spurs Nick on further.

Nick closes his eyes and remembers the night he asked Louis to be as loud as he wanted, to say anything and everything that popped into his head while Louis was riding his cock. Nick groans around Louis' cock as he remembers how hard he came that night, listening to Louis' filthy mouth as he clenched his tight arse around Nick's cock.

"Nick," Louis whimpers, "oh, Nick, feels so good, love when you hold me down, god _yes,_ " he moans high and loud in the back of his throat and Nick opens his eyes again to see Louis gripping the sheets below him so tightly that his knuckles have gone white.

It shouldn't mean anything to hear Louis praise him like that, Nick should know better. But the voice in the back of his head telling him that Louis probably sounds this way for all of his clients gets softer and softer every time Louis comes over, every time he smiles at Nick, both in the heat of the moment and long after they've finished.

Nick's got it bad.

"Shit, fuck," Louis moans, "I'm gonna come, _fuck_ , I'm gonna come!"

"Yeah," Nick says after he's quickly pulled off of Louis' cock and wrapped his hand around it to get him off, "c'mon, Lou, come all over yourself, know you want to."

"Yeah," Louis whimpers, "yeah, I wanna."

"C'mon," Nick mutters as he leans down and sinks his teeth into the meat of Louis' thighs, making Louis cry out as he starts coming while Nick sucks a mark into his skin. It's dark by the time Nick lifts his head and he can't help himself when he presses his thumb into it, loving the way Louis hisses and jerks underneath him.

"Fuck," Louis says with a satisfied groan. "Messy enough for you?" he asks as he looks down at himself. Nick hums as he lets go of Louis' cock and trails a finger through the pool of come on his stomach, spreading it around a little before pressing the bruise he left again with that same finger.

"Not yet," he murmurs, smirking as Louis closes his eyes and whimpers again.

"You can fuck 'em, if you want," Louis says breathlessly, opening his eyes to stare down at Nick.

"Hmm?" Nick glances up at him and Louis licks his lips.

"My thighs," he answers as his lips curl into a smirk. "Thought you might wanna fuck 'em."

Nick's mouth goes dry as he looks down at Louis' thighs. "Are you… is that…"

"Some people like it," Louis says, answering the question Nick was too flustered to ask. "Feels good, I promise."

Nick groans softly, torn between jealousy over picturing anyone else fucking Louis' thighs and pure arousal at the idea of doing it himself. It takes no time at all for him to decide to do it, and he quickly reaches towards the nightstand to grab the bottle of lube that has yet to be used that night.

Louis hisses softly when Nick pours lube between his thighs but his hisses turn to moans soon enough once Nick starts rubbing it in and making his skin slick. He puts some on his own cock before he lies down next to Louis, who turns on his side and presses his hips back against Nick and wraps his arm around him to grip Nick's hair. Nick slides his arm under Louis and presses it against his chest, keeping him close as his other hand goes to his knee to pry his legs apart.

"Just like that," Louis breathes out as Nick pushes himself between Louis' legs, groaning in his ear when Louis squeezes his thighs together.

"Fuck," Nick grunts, shutting his eyes and pressing his mouth to Louis' neck. He hadn't expected it to feel this good, to crave the way his cock slides between Louis' tight, wet thighs. " _Fuck_ , that's so good."

"Told you," Louis laughs breathlessly. "Knew you'd love it."

"God, yeah," Nick groans, "feels incredible."

"Yeah, don't stop," Louis says as he grips Nick's hair a little tighter, "wanna feel you come. Mark me up, get me all messy, just… fucking filthy," he gasps.

"Yeah? Love it, don't you?" Nick moans against Louis' neck. "Love seeing you covered in my come."

"Yes, god, Nick," Louis whines, suddenly letting go of his hair and Nick opens his eyes to see Louis wrap a hand around his own cock and start tugging it roughly. Nick groans and moves his hips faster, fucking Louis' thighs harder as he chases his orgasm.

"That's it, make yourself come again. Get you all dirty, just the way you like it, isn't it?"

"Yes," Louis cries out, "I want it, please, fuck, _Nick._  Feels so good, don't wanna stop."

"Do it, don't stop, do it," Nick babbles, "m'gonna come, fuck, Louis, m'gonna come!"

Nick shouts, tries to muffle the sound against Louis' neck as his hips slam against his arse, riding out his orgasm as Louis shakes in his arms and follows suit. Nick feels like he can't move a muscle, doesn't want to, he just wants to lie in bed forever with Louis in his arms.

"How about now?" Louis asks, bringing Nick out of his daze.

"Hmm?" Nick asks as Louis shifts, letting Nick's cock fall from between his thighs as he turns onto his back so he can look at Nick properly.

"Think I'm proper messy now," Louis says with a smirk. Nick scans the length of Louis' body and hums softly as he pulls Louis closer. He's right, of course, he's absolutely covered in come and lube but Nick doesn't care.

"Believe you are," he murmurs as he draws Louis in for a kiss.

"All your fault," Louis says against his lips, smiling enough that it's hard for them to kiss properly. Nick growls softly and intends to argue that it's all Louis' fault, but he's interrupted by the loud buzzing of his phone on the nightstand.

"Fucking hell, thirty-seven missed calls," Nick says as he checks his phone with Louis still curled against his side. Louis snickers and Nick pinches his side, grunting softly when Louis nips at his chest.

"Somebody must really want to talk to you," Louis murmurs, tilting his head up so it's resting against Nick's shoulder.

"S'my friend Daisy," Nick says as he scrolls through his missed calls and voicemails, even though he's not about to listen to any of them with Louis still in his bed. "I'll call her later."

"Sure about that?" Louis says when Nick's phone lights up with another call, and all Nick can do is curse under his breath, silence the call, and then pin Louis back down against his bed and press their mouths together to keep him from laughing.

Later, when they've finally stopped snogging, Nick's phone buzzes for the hundredth time while Louis is halfway to the bathroom to clean himself up and he starts laughing all over again. Nick pretends that the flush on his cheeks is only there because of the incredible sex and _not_ because his best friend is embarrassing him by calling him back at the worst possible time, waving Louis away as he silences his phone yet again.

A text comes through before Nick has a chance to put his phone down and he looks at it only because Louis isn't actually in the room.

_WHY AREN'T YOU ANSWERING YOU TOLD ME TO CALL YOU NICK I WILL COME TO YOUR FLAT IF I HAVE TO!!_

"Oh, fuck," Nick mutters as his phone starts ringing again. He glances at the door to the bathroom quickly to make sure Louis is still occupied before he answers it with a soft but harsh greeting.

"What's wrong??" Daisy says immediately. "You sounded awful in your message and then you don't answer my calls?? Do you want me to come over, I'm not far from your flat--"

"No!" Nick answers quickly, "oh god, please don't. I'm fine, Dais, really."

"You're not fine, what's going on?" Daisy says with a sigh. "You can tell me anything, Grim, you know that."

"I just had a bit of panic before, I'm fine now," Nick says even though it's a complete lie. Sure, he hadn't been thinking about his feelings towards Louis because he'd been preoccupied with Louis actually being in his bed, but maybe he'd overreacted in the first place.

"Are you sure?" Daisy sighs. "Nick, what's going on?"

Nick finds himself staring at the door to the bathroom as he takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. Daisy's waiting patiently for an answer but he knows she won't wait forever.

"Remember how you set me up with, um…" Nick clears his throat and lowers his voice, "Louis?"

"The prostitute?" Daisy asks and Nick winces. "Yeah, why?"

"Well, um, I think I might've done something a bit stupid."

"Nick," Daisy says in a slightly scared tone, "please tell me you didn't accidentally murder a prostitute."

"God, no! Christ, it's nothing like that!"

"Well I don't know! You're scaring me!"

"Do you really think I'd do something _that_ stupid?"

"Well…" Daisy hums, trailing off and Nick huffs.

"Ha, ha. Very mature, Daisy, darling."

"Well, you do have a tendency to do stupid shit, love. Next you'll tell me you've gone and fallen in love with him or something."

Daisy laughs like she's expecting Nick to join her, but her laughter dies quickly when she realizes Nick has gone silent.

"Oh, Nick, you haven't."

"I didn't mean to," Nick says miserably. "He's just… he's so lovely and bloody perfect for me, it's maddening."

"Nick," Daisy says, sounding sympathetic, "are you sure he's not just, y'know, acting?"

"Of course I'm not bloody sure, that's why I'm freaking out about it!" Nick hisses, his eyes still on the bathroom door. "God, what have I done? I can't _believe_ I've gone and fallen for him, I'm such a stupid git."

"You're not," Daisy says fiercely. "You're a romantic, Nick. You probably couldn't have stopped yourself from doing it even if you'd tried." She sighs. "Maybe it's my fault, I'm the one who pushed you into it."

"No, Dais, it's not your fault." Nick sighs. "I'm the one who called him, I'm the one who _keeps_ calling him. I just… wish it was different."

"Oh, love. I'm so sorry."

"I just don't know what to do." Nick groans under his breath and lets out a whimper. "I keep thinking that if I just see him one more time it'll get it out of my system and I'll be fine, but then he leaves and I'm like some lovestruck teenager all over again. It's awful, how do people stand this?"

"Usually, they try falling in love with someone who can love them back."

"Great," Nick replies flatly, "thanks for that, Dais."

Daisy starts saying something but all Nick can hear is the twist of the bathroom doorknob and he goes into a panic. He's got maybe ten seconds before Louis comes back into the room and he's got to get Daisy off the phone now.

"Dais, I've gotta go," he says quickly.

"What? Why?"

"Because, that's why!"

"Is he… Nick, is he still there?"

The door opens and Nick swears his heart is about to explode in his chest.

"Yes, fuck, I have to _go_ , I'll call you later!"

He quickly hangs up on Daisy and tries his best to look entirely calm and not nervous at all when Louis steps out of the bathroom. Louis smiles when their eyes meet and he laughs softly, making Nick's heart skip a beat.

"Everything alright?" Louis asks as he walks towards the bed.

"Peachy," Nick answers coolly, his eyes flicking up to meet Louis' instead of tracing the lines of his body.

"Is that so?" Louis grins as he puts his hands on Nick's shoulders and gently pushes him back down onto the bed so he can crawl on top of him as he presses his lips to Nick's.

Nick knows this is a bad idea, Daisy's voice is still ringing in his ears and his head's a complete mess from their conversation, but it doesn't stop him from wrapping his arms around Louis and pulling him in close.

He blames the state of post-coital bliss that erases every worry from his mind and leads him to asking Louis something that Daisy would absolutely object to.

"Hey," Nick says softly, after they've stopped kissing and Louis is lying in his arms next to him on the bed. "Would you want to, um, come to… a thing? With me?"

"A thing?" Louis repeats, his eyes sparkling with amusement. "What sort of thing?"

"A fashion thing," Nick says with a laugh. "It's like, well, it'd be my show at Fashion Week and then like, a party after. You don't have to, I just thought, well, that you might want to."

"Fashion Week?" Louis hums. "When's that?"

"Next week," Nick replies. "Mine's on Friday."

Louis stays silent for a moment and Nick tries valiantly not to hold his breath. He can't tear his eyes away from Louis', staring at him like he's hoping he can sway Louis' opinion just by looking at him. Nick swears his heart stops beating entirely when Louis' mouth curves into a smile and he presses a kiss to Nick's lips.

"Hand me your phone?" he asks softly.

Nick's a little bewildered, to say the least, but he reaches out and grabs his phone from where he placed it on the bedside table. He unlocks it, making sure Daisy's texts haven't popped up on the screen before he hands it over to Louis.

"Here," Louis says after he spends a few seconds tapping on the screen, tilting it away from Nick so he can't see what he's doing.

"What's this?" Nick asks as Louis hands him back his phone, looking at Louis rather than at the screen.

"My number," Louis answers, his cheeks turning the slightest bit pink. "Now you can text me the details, yeah?"

"Is that right?" Nick asks as he looks at the brand new contact information in his phone and he swallows a bit roughly before he speaks again, "can I text you other things too?"

"If you like," Louis replies. "Depends on what you've got in mind. I know how dirty you can be."

Nick flushes a deep red as he tosses his phone aside and tries to cover his face while Louis starts laughing. They've never managed a round three before, but Nick has a good feeling about tonight.

*

Nick is in an absolute panic, come the day of his premiere at London Fashion Week. Nothing _appears_ to be going wrong but he's completely petrified that something will blow up in his face the moment the first model steps out onto the runway. He's gone over every detail with Eleanor a thousand times, needing her constant reassurance that everything is perfect and there's not a thread out of place on any of his pieces, but it still doesn't quell his worries.

Because on top of all of the celebrities and very important fashion people who are coming to his show, he's also expecting Louis to show up any minute and somehow that sets him more on edge than any A-list celebrity ever could.

He's poring over a clipboard for the hundredth time - poached off of Eleanor when she was pulled away for one reason or another - when it's suddenly ripped out of his hands and he's ready to pick a fight with whoever just did that, only when he looks up he sees Eleanor standing in front of him with a smile on her face.

"This is mine," she says, brandishing the clipboard, "and you've got a visitor."

Eleanor steps aside and there's Louis standing behind her, looking every bit as nervous as Nick has felt all day long. Nick can't say a word at first, he's too taken aback by Louis actually _being_ here and all dressed up in a black button-down shirt and actual fancy trousers, not jeans.

"Hey," he says softly with a small wave, giving Nick a tiny smile as he nervously looks between him and Eleanor. "Thought you might want a bit of company."

"You're here," Nick says, and Eleanor takes that as her cue to leave, smiling widely at the pair of them before she turns away and disappears from sight.

"You invited me," Louis says with a soft laugh, "imagine my surprise when they actually had my name on the list. With a backstage pass, no less."

"You're here," Nick repeats. Louis laughs a little louder this time and it breaks Nick out of his stupor enough to step forward and wrap himself around Louis in a hug.

"You okay?" Louis asks as he pets Nick's shoulder. "Big day, innit?"

"The biggest of my entire life," Nick says with a soft groan, closing his eyes as he turns his head so he can whisper in Louis' ear, "I'm so glad you're here."

"Me too," Louis answers. "Anything I can do to help?" he asks once Nick has let go of him, he glances around at all the people milling about and Nick breathes out a heavy sigh.

"They keep telling me everything's fine," Nick says, waving a hand around, "but I'm still bloody terrified. Think that's normal?"

"I imagine so," Louis replies with a shrug as he ducks his head a little so Nick can't see his eyes. "Can't say for sure, never done this before."

Nick tries to ignore how his heart jumps when Louis says that, because he's almost positive that Louis doesn't mean it in the way that Nick wants him to. Nick drops his eyes to the floor and shifts his weight from one foot to the other in a nervous habit, suddenly feeling so out of place at his own fashion show it's absolutely absurd.

Thankfully there isn't much time to spare before his show actually starts, which leaves the two of them even less time to stand around staring at each other awkwardly. One of the runway managers comes over to alert Nick that it's about to start and Nick follows her over to the left side of the stage, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Louis comes too. They end up standing off to the side so Nick can wish luck on every model before they go out onto the runway, with Louis standing by his side.

Nick doesn't even realize he's shaking until Louis laces their hands together and squeezes reassuringly just after the third model goes on. Nick turns his head and sees that Louis is looking up at him with a smile, and in that moment Nick feels a wave of relief wash over him.

"These are amazing," Louis whispers, "you really did all this?"

"You sound surprised," Nick quips with a cheeky smile.

"I'm impressed," Louis replies. Nick turns his head to continue watching his models go down the runway but he squeezes Louis' hand, both to show appreciation for the compliment and to ground himself in that moment. It's one he's not likely to soon forget.

The rest of the show seems to pass by in a flash, before Nick knows what's happening there's thunderous applause and all of the models are filing out onto the catwalk for the end of the show. Nick's still grasping Louis' hand while standing frozen in place when Louis nudges him rather sharply and Nick jumps.

"Aren't you supposed to go too?" Louis says with a small, teasing smile.

"S'pose I'd better," Nick mumbles as he looks down at Louis. It's not that he doesn't want to go, it's more that he'd rather not have to have Louis leave his side.

"Go on, then." Louis stands on tip-toe and presses a kiss to the corner of Nick's mouth. "You've earned it."

Nick's smile is positively dazzling when he steps out onto the catwalk amidst all the models, and it's all because of the boy he's got waiting for him backstage. It shouldn't be so easy for Nick to pretend that tonight is something different, something he could actually have with Louis. He almost forgets entirely how he came to know Louis until he catches one pair of eyes in the crowd: Daisy.

She knows him too well to let this slide. She'll never let him continue thinking that what he has with Louis is anything substantial because really, how can it be? Nick know next to nothing about Louis apart from the odd factoid here and there that he's let slip during their time together.

Nick pushes all the negativity out of his mind as he takes his final bow at the end of the catwalk, holding onto the last shred of ecstasy before the world he's built out of fantasy and hope comes crashing down around him.

Once the lights come up and the models have all filed backstage again, the crowd starts making its way to the room next door where the post-show party is being held. Louis is still waiting for Nick when he steps off the runway, looking a little timid but somehow it still feels like Louis belongs and it makes Nick's heart ache. It takes great restraint on Nick's part not to pull Louis into his arms and kiss the daylights out of him. Instead, he smiles at Louis and mouths an apology every time he gets sidetracked on his way over.

It's understandable, he did just premiere his own fashion line after all. There are tons of people who want his time and attention, asking hundreds of questions about his vision and what he wants to do next, but all Nick can do is think about Louis.

He's still caught up talking to someone vaguely important - even though Nick's definitely forgotten her name already - when he sees Eleanor go up to Louis and take his arm to lead him away from where he's been standing, waiting for Nick. He can't help but stare, his attention entirely stolen away from the woman he's talking to, and his heart starts racing as they leave in the direction of the party in the other room. Nick tries not to let it bother him as he turns back to the woman and apologizes for missing her question, because he knows Eleanor wouldn't just kick Louis out like that. His heart doesn't stop beating wildly until she reappears and steals him away from the conversation he's been distracted from enough times that he's surprised it's still going on.

"I thought it best if your date went on to the party," Eleanor explains and Nick lets out a sigh of relief.

"Good plan." Nick loops their arms together and pats her hand. "Knew I kept you around for a reason."

Eleanor rolls her eyes. "He's cute, y'know."

"Oh, I know," Nick says as he ducks his head, feeling a flush bloom across his cheeks.

"Is he who you've been secretly seeing all this time?" Eleanor asks with a grin.

"I'm not discussing this with you," Nick says with a laugh as they enter the party to more applause. Eleanor pats Nick's shoulder as he tries to get them to stop clapping, and she whispers in his ear before leaving his side.

"I'll get you a drink, loosen you up a little."

Nick's not sure he likes the sound of that, but he isn't about to say no to a drink. He's going to need it to calm his nerves if he's going to continue to be grilled about his next move by a hundred different people.

Several minutes go by without Eleanor returning with a drink and Nick starts to wonder where she is even as he's chatting with some fellow designers. He lets his eyes wander over towards the bar but he can't see her through the crowd even with his advantage of height. He's about given up hope of getting any drink at all when Louis suddenly appears, moving through the crowd with two drinks in his hand and a smile on his face when he spots Nick.

"Eleanor said you might need one of these," he says softly when he hands one of the glasses over to Nick, quickly turning to Nick's company to apologize for interrupting. If Nick's eyes weren't overtaken by hearts before, they certainly were now.

Nick puts his hand on the small of Louis' back, just in case he was about to slip away, and introduces him to the others.

"This is Louis," he says, pausing for a moment before he adds, "my date for the evening."

He feels Louis stiffen slightly under his palm and doesn't miss the way Louis' eyes dart to him for a split second before he graciously shakes hands with the other designers. Nick's heart swells as Louis makes small talk with them, praising Nick's work even as he admits that he doesn't know much about the industry at all.

Nick drains his glass quickly, needing something to keep his mouth occupied so he doesn't do or say anything stupid, and stays rather quiet until their company moves on and leaves him alone with Louis.

"Date, hmm?" Louis says, staring down at his drink as he swirls it around in the glass.

"You are, aren't you?" Nick asks, curling his arm around Louis' waist and pulling him slightly closer. Louis smiles down at his drink before he looks up at Nick, his eyes bright enough to match his smile as they stare at each other for a moment.

"S'pose I am," he replies. For a moment, Nick wonders if Louis is about to kiss him. God knows Nick has been wanting to do it all night but hasn't found the right time. He hesitates, still waiting for Louis to make the move, and the moment is lost.

Louis ducks his head and laughs softly before he steps out of Nick's arm, turning around so they're facing each other and he can carefully take Nick's glass out of his hands.

"As your date, then, it's my duty to get you another drink."

Nick watches Louis go, keeping his eyes on Louis' back for as long as he can before he disappears into the crowd. As soon as he loses sight of him, Nick pulls his phone from his pocket and uses it as a ploy to hopefully keep anyone who may want to talk to him away for at least a little while. He scrolls through his texts - passing by far too many unread messages of congratulations - until he reaches his conversation with Louis, started just a few days before.

The thread had been started by Nick, diligently providing Louis with the details of tonight's show and after-party, to which he'd received a quick response that had been more cordial than anything else. Nick hadn't said anything in reply, having told himself that the only reason Louis gave him his number was for this, nothing else.

It had been easy (for the most part) to ignore the urge to text Louis until late one night when Nick was tired, frustrated, and still at the office. He hadn't had the time to book another appointment with Louis before the show and he found himself missing the sound of Louis' laugh more than anything else.

 _Dunno if this is worth it after all,_  he'd texted on a whim. _Too much bloody work :(_

He hadn't expected Louis to text back, both on principle and given the fact that it was past 11pm. Nick cursed himself for being so obviously needy and was in the middle of composing an apology when Louis replied.

_It'll definitely be worth it, you've worked too hard to give up now! :)_

Nick smiled at the text, warmth filling his heart from one simple message. He deleted his apology and started to write a new text, but was interrupted again by another message from Louis.

_You're not still working, are you?? It's late :(_

Nick laughed. _Afraid so :(_

_Boooooo :( you should get some rest. Come back to it in the morning!_

_You're probably right_. Nick sighed heavily as he rubbed his eyes. He was absolutely exhausted and going home to his bed sounded like heaven, even if it was going to be empty.

Nick didn't check his phone again until he was in a car on his way home, and there was a message from Louis waiting for him.

_I know I'm right, you'll thank me later :)_

_Thank youuuuuu_ , Nick texted once he'd gotten home. _My bed is a million times better for sleeping than my desk._

Nick's heart still skips a beat when he reads over the text Louis had sent in return, the one that Nick hadn't seen until the next morning because he'd fallen asleep so quickly.

_I know. Sleep well, Nick._

Nick groans softly to himself as he continues rereading their texts, the floodgates having opened after that night. He'd texted Louis as soon as he woke up that morning, apologizing for having fallen asleep on him, and when Louis' reply came through not thirty seconds later he buried his head in the pillows and wished he hadn't fallen so hard for someone so unattainable.

He laughs as he rereads Louis' texts about his flatmate Harry, who apparently cleans their flat more than anyone Nick's ever known and is constantly moving all of Louis' things. These were the texts that got Nick through most days leading up to the show, distracting him with such simple normality that they single-handedly kept him from losing his mind.

That is, until last night. They'd been innocently texting - like they had been all week, not a shred of sexual innuendo in any of their messages - before Louis mentioned that he was nearly falling asleep and Nick suggested he should go to bed. He certainly hadn't been expecting Louis to send him a selfie of himself all curled up in bed amongst his pillows and blankets, looking soft and so cuddly that it made Nick sort of want to cry.

It was just downright cruel, letting Nick see a side of Louis that he may never actually get to have for himself. Still, it doesn't stop Nick from looking at the photo over and over again, wishing that maybe someday he'll get to fall asleep and wake up to Louis cuddled up next to him.

The illusion is shattered completely when Nick finally puts his phone away and looks up to see Daisy standing in front of him with a look that lets Nick know that the jig is up.

He takes a step towards her and sways a little, only just realizing that he definitely should've eaten something before consuming the entirety of the drink Louis brought him. The vodka has hit him full-force and his vision blurs a little, but he shakes his head and determinedly walks towards Daisy who greets him with a hug even despite her disapproving look.

"Congratulations," she says.

"Thanks, love," Nick smiles, but when Daisy doesn't return it his face falls and he sighs, "you're not here to talk about the show, are you?"

"Nick," she says with a frown. "What're you doing?"

"I don't know what you mean," he replies and she narrows her eyes.

"You know exactly what I mean. I saw you, y'know."

"Saw me wh--"

"With Louis." Nick's stomach drops and he's sure Daisy can see it on his face even after he's looked away from her eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Nick," Daisy says in a sympathetic tone, "this is dangerous, you know that, right?"

"It's not, it's fine," Nick snaps.

"You're so obvious, Nick, everyone can see how you feel--"

"No, they can't."

"Yes, they can! Nick--"

"It's nothing, Daisy!" Nick raises his voice, "he's just a prostitute, alright? It's fine!"

Daisy looks stunned by his outburst and Nick sighs deeply as he rubs his eyes, intending to turn around and go find Louis at the bar. However, the moment he turns around he realizes that there's someone standing right behind him, and that someone is Louis.

"Louis…" Nick blinks and looks back at Daisy, who's watching them both with a worried look in her eyes. "I didn't--"

"Here's your drink," Louis says flatly as he pushes the glass into Nick's hand. "If you'll excuse me, I have to go."

Nick can't move, he can't even speak, he just watches as Louis leaves the room without even one look back. When Louis is gone from his sight, Nick turns to look at Daisy in the hopes that she can explain what the hell just happened.

"Oh, Nick," she says as she pulls him into a hug, "I'm so sorry."

"He just… left," Nick whispers. "Why'd he do that?"

"Well…" Daisy clears her throat and looks Nick straight in the eye as she says, "you did say he's _just_ a prostitute."

Nick stares at her for a moment before the last minute of his life comes flooding back and he staggers a little from the weight of what he's done. He can't _believe_ he just said that, it's the biggest lie he's ever told in his entire life and… oh god, Louis heard every word.

"I have t-- I have to go," Nick says as he thrusts his drink into Daisy's hand, "I have to go after him."

"Nick," Daisy calls, "Nick!"

He doesn't listen to her, he rushes out of the room as quickly as he can in the hopes that Louis hasn't gotten too far. A number of people try to stop him on the way but he pushes past them (some less politely than others) as he frantically searches for Louis in every direction, unsure of what he's going to say to make it right but he has to try something, he can't let Louis go and have that be the last thing he remembers.

"Louis!" he shouts as he bursts through the outside door, whipping his head around until he spots him at the taxi queue. Louis sees Nick and immediately leaves the queue, starting up the street in order to get away from him.

Nick chases after him, calling his name countless times before he's able to catch up and reach out to grab a hold of his arm.

"Don't touch me!" Louis shouts. Nick stops, frozen in place as Louis rounds on him with fury in his eyes and a breathlessness to his voice that can only be equated with rage. "You are _not_ to touch me ever again, d'you hear me?"

"Louis, I--"

"I should've seen this coming. I should've known that you were no different than any of the others, but I didn't. I let you in. I let myself believe that this was different, that you really believed it when you called me your date in front of all those people." Louis laughs darkly. "But you didn't, did you? You should've just called me your _escort,_  at least then you wouldn't have been lying."

"Lou--"

"Is that why you asked me here tonight? Thought you might need a quick fuck between impressing all the right people? Maybe a blowie to settle your nerves, hmm?"

"I didn't--"

"If that's what you wanted," Louis says in a scathing tone, "you should've made an appointment."

Louis turns on his heel and storms off, leaving Nick all alone to wallow in the ruins of what they could've had. Nick sits down on the kerb and puts his head in his hands, wishing he could go back to the start of the night and do it all differently. He wishes he knew how to fix things, how to take back the words he never even meant in the first place. Unfortunately, all he can do at the moment is sit and feel sorry for himself.

He takes his phone out of his pocket, ignoring the texts he received from Daisy upon running out of the party as he scrolls down to his conversation with Louis. The sleepy selfie from the night before is still there and this time the sight of it shatters Nick's heart into a thousand pieces.

 _I'm so sorry_ , he writes out with shaky fingers, having barely enough courage to press send.

*

Nick barely gets out of bed the next day. He'd been expecting to spend all day in bed regardless, thinking he'd be either nursing a hangover or he'd be otherwise engaged with Louis, but the reality is he's being a mopey bastard.

He's set his phone to do not disturb to avoid any contact with the outside world, yet he keeps scrolling through his text conversation with Louis in the hopes that he'll answer. The conversation remains one-sided even though Nick keeps texting him apologies. He doesn't have the nerve to call him, too afraid of what Louis might say to him if he does.

Nick would probably find his bed more comforting if his other pillow didn't smell faintly like Louis. He buries his head in it and breathes in deeply, torturing himself like he believes he deserves, doing absolutely nothing to try and better his situation.

He finally checks his other messages around three in the morning when he can't sleep, seeing several from Daisy in varying degrees of worry. He texts her back to let her know that he's at least alive, and then tosses his phone aside and continues to be in a miserable mood well into the early morning.

A knock at the door awakens Nick from a sleep he doesn't remember falling into, and he's so groggy that at first he wonders if he imagined the knock entirely. When it happens again, louder this time, he groans and drags himself out of bed to answer it. There, on the other side, is Daisy.

"Thought you could use a pick-me-up," she says, brandishing a tray of coffee. Nick eyes the bag slung over her shoulder, unsure of its contents, but lets her in all the same.

"What're you doing here?" he asks, a yawn he can't control interrupting him halfway through the question.

"If you answered your phone," Daisy says with a pointed look, "you'd've known I was coming over."

She sits Nick down at his kitchen table and pushes a warm cup of coffee into his hand before she starts unpacking the bag she brought with her. Nick breathes in the aroma of the cup and hums softly before his eyes focus on what Daisy's doing and he blinks several times, nearly positive he's seeing things with how much Daisy managed to fit inside that bag.

"Did you buy out all of Waitrose?" he asks, earning a laugh in response.

"Just the essentials," she replies as she picks up a tub of ice cream and goes to stick it in Nick's freezer. Along with that, she's brought an assortment of pastries, three rather large sandwiches, a couple bags of crisps, a bottle of wine, a six-pack of beer, and several different DVDs. The only noteworthy similarity among the DVDs is that absolutely none of them are romantic comedies.

"Did you actually bring the movie Saw into this house?"

Daisy shrugs. "Thought you might want to see people get cut up into bits, I dunno."

"Not likely," Nick answers with a shudder. He takes a sip of the coffee and lets out a content sigh as he looks up at Daisy. "Thanks, Dais."

"Of course," she replies as she sits down in the chair next to him and picks up her own cup of coffee. "I won't let my best friend drown in his own misery, you know that."

Nick chuckles weakly and Daisy puts down her coffee and pulls her chair across the floor so she's close enough to pull Nick into a hug. He doesn't cry, hasn't shed a tear this whole time, but his chest is tight enough that it's difficult to breathe normally and he wonders if it might help if he cried a little, or if that would only make things worse.

"I'm sorry," Daisy whispers.

"S'not your fault," Nick mumbles, holding onto her a little tighter.

"It is, though. I shouldn't have goaded you like that, it wasn't fair." Daisy sighs. "Reckon I'm the reason you're all fucked up like this when you should be celebrating the launch of your fantastic line."

"I'm the one who put my foot in it, aren't I?" Nick huffs. "Probably would've done it sooner or later, might as well have gotten it over with."

"Nicholas Grimshaw, you shut your mouth." Daisy slaps his shoulder and Nick winces before pulling away.

"You're supposed to be comforting me! Not hurting me!"

"I'll comfort you when you're not being a bloody idiot," Daisy says as she crosses her arms.

"But…" Nick stares at her. "What?"

"Remember when I told you last night that anyone can see how hard you'd fallen for Louis?"

Nick winces again as he gives a resigned sigh. "Yeah."

"D'you know why I was so worried about you?" Nick shakes his head. "I was worried that you'd gone and fallen in love with someone who didn't love you back." Nick goes to open his mouth and say that she was right, that's exactly what he'd done, but Daisy doesn't let him. "But you did, didn't you?"

Nick blinks. "What?"

"Oh!" Daisy smacks him again. "Don't be so thick! Why d'you think Louis ran off like he did?"

"Be-Because of what I said? I was horrible, didn't you--"

"If Louis didn't care about you, d'you think he'd give a shit if you called him a prostitute in front of everyone like that?"

All the fight drains out of Nick and he stares blankly at Daisy; Nick had never once thought that the reason Louis stormed out so quickly was because he had feelings for him. It's so obvious now that Daisy's said it but Nick has to face facts: it doesn't change a thing.

"So?" Nick mumbles. "He hates me now. He'll probably never speak to me again."

"Not with that attitude, he won't." Daisy huffs. "C'mon, love, let's watch some stupid movie and stuff our faces with pastries, then we'll tackle your mess of a love life."

Nick lets himself be dragged into his living room and curls up on the couch while Daisy goes about putting a film in his DVD player. He valiantly tries not to think about the first time Louis came to his flat, nor does he tell Daisy that she's sitting in the same spot Louis did during that visit. He reasons that it's in her best interest, mostly because the only other comfortable spot to watch a film in his flat is in his bed and that would be far worse.

Daisy lets Nick mope, she lets him put his head in her lap atop a fluffy pillow as she gently rubs his shoulder in a soothing manner. He hardly pays attention to the film, he doesn't even know what film it is for the first half an hour or so, all he knows is that there are lots of explosions and gunfire and something about Christmas. He decides it's a very strange film indeed, shuts his eyes instead and ends up falling asleep in Daisy's lap.

Nick only wakes up when Daisy tries to climb off the sofa without pushing him off first, and as he sits up and rubs his eyes he realizes he's missed the rest of the film. He frowns and looks over at Daisy as she makes her way to the kitchen, calling out an apology that she laughs in response to.

"Don't worry, Nick, it's alright," she calls back. Nick hears her open the door to the fridge and the clink of bottles, and soon she reappears with both the six-pack and the bottle of wine in her hands. "Which would you prefer?"

Nick grimaces at the six-pack and Daisy rolls her eyes. She ends up handing over the bottle in its entirety before pulling a corkscrew from her pocket and passing it to Nick as well. He stares at her as she sets the six-pack down on the coffee table and opens one for herself.

"What?" she asks when Nick still hasn't moved to open the bottle. "You need it more than I do."

Nick thinks about it for a moment and lets out a soft breath. "Fair."

With every swig that lowers the amount of alcohol in the bottle, so do Nick's boundaries go down and he starts talking about Louis. Daisy sits and listens as she nurses her beer, keeping a careful eye on Nick as he starts getting a bit flustered and pink-cheeked from the wine. He nearly spills once or twice but she makes no move to take away the bottle.

"He's just… _was_ just so…" Nick sighs and shakes his head, "lovely. Perfect for me."

"So you've said," Daisy replies amusedly.

"Bit of a shit, too. The mouth he had on him," Nick says with a wry chuckle, making Daisy giggle. "Not like that!"

"Really?" Daisy wiggles her eyebrows and Nick blushes furiously and tries to cover his face with the bottle.

"Alright, alright, it was good for that too, but it's not just that. He wasn't afraid to take the piss, y'know? It was like he didn't care who either of us were, he just treated me… _normal_."

"What, instead of kissing your arse like the rest of us do?"

Nick rolls his eyes. "You've never kissed my arse."

"That's because you've got plenty of others to do it for you," Daisy replies with a grin. "Got to pick up the slack, haven't I?"

"S'pose you're right," Nick says with a laugh as he tips his wine bottle forward to clink it against Daisy's beer. She smiles and Nick tries his best to keep a smile on his face, but it's only a matter of time before it drops back down into a frown.

"Nick," Daisy says sympathetically, reaching out to pat his hand as he takes another swig. "You'll figure it out, I know you will."

"I dunno what to do," Nick says with a sigh, "I've texted him about a hundred times, he won't answer."

"Probably wouldn't answer if you called, would he?" Nick shakes his head.

"Doubt it." His shoulders slump and he takes another long drink from the wine bottle while Daisy bites her bottom lip as a thoughtful look spreads across her face. She tilts her head as she looks at Nick and for a moment he wonders if he's accidentally dribbled wine down his chin or something, but there's nothing there when he lifts his hand to check. "What?" he asks finally.

"What about if you called someone else?" Daisy suggests.

"Who would I call?"

"Still got that card I gave you?" Daisy asks with a smile.

"Liam?" Nick blinks. "Liam! He'd answer my call!"

"It's worth a shot," Daisy agrees.

"I'll try right now!" Nick says as he fumbles a little to put the bottle of wine down, swaying a bit when he stands up to retrieve his phone from his bedroom. Daisy laughs a little and asks Nick if he thinks that's a good idea, but Nick doesn't listen. He's too preoccupied with finding his phone and his brain is a little fuzzy from the alcohol, which is truly a recipe for disaster.

Nick trips over his own feet in his rush back to the sofa and he bumps his shin on the coffee table, but he luckily doesn't knock over the bottle of wine. Daisy keeps laughing as Nick settles back down in his previous seat and grabs the bottle, taking one more long drink for an additional confidence boost before he dials the number.

"Here goes," he says with a long breath, giving Daisy a hopeful smile.

"Good luck," she replies with crossed fingers.

Nick holds his breath as he presses call and waits for Liam to answer. He's not quite sure what he'll say but at least he knows it can't possibly be any worse than the first time he called the number.

"LP Agency, this is Liam, how may I direct your call?"

"Liam!" Nick replies, a little too excitedly. He clears his throat quickly and tries to speak in a normal tone as he continues, "hi Liam, it's Nick. I was wondering--"

"Sorry, you've got the wrong number," Liam replies in a monotone voice and then the line goes dead. Nick pulls his phone away from his ear and stares at it in disbelief.

"That was quick," Daisy comments, giving Nick a careful look.

"He hung up on me!" Nick huffs. "That little shit!"

"Nick--"

"I'm calling again," Nick says as he immediately redials and waits for Liam to pick up again.

"LP Agency, this is Liam, how may I direct your call?"

"You hung up on me!" Nick half-shouts. "Where do you get off hanging up on me?!"

"I'm sorry, sir, but I think--"

"I called you for help, Liam! I need to talk to Louis, he isn't answering me and you need to--"

"I don't need to do anything," Liam interrupts and Nick's mouth snaps shut. "You've done enough, I think, and maybe you should just leave well enough alone. Have a nice day."

The line goes dead again and this time Nick lets his phone fall from his hand and it bounces onto the sofa. Daisy takes it, puts it on the coffee table, and then reaches for the bottle in Nick's other hand before he can down the rest of the wine in one gulp.

"You okay?" Daisy asks carefully as she scoots across the cushions and puts her hands on Nick's shoulders.

"He… he told me off," Nick says, unable to believe what just happened. "Said I'd done enough and I should leave well enough alone."

"Oh, Nick." Daisy frowns.

"And then he said…" Nick pauses to shake his head and chuckle, "have a nice day."

"Well, that's awfully polite of him." Daisy sighs. "I'm sorry, love. I thought he'd be more help than that."

"I really fucked up," Nick whispers.

"You'll fix it," Daisy insists.

"How?"

"I dunno," Daisy says with a sigh, "but you will, I know you. You'll figure something out."

Nick shrugs, all out of ideas. If Louis won't answer his texts and Liam won't take his calls, he has no clue how he's going to ever make this right.

*

When Daisy leaves the flat a few hours later, half by her own volition and half by Nick politely telling her to go home, Nick can't help but fall back into a funk. He tidies up the kitchen (meaning he tosses a few dishes into the sink and puts the remainder of the six-pack Daisy brought over back into the fridge) before he slinks off to his room and curls up in bed.

He lazily texts Eleanor to check on his schedule for the next week but it only lasts for so long until he's scrolling through his inbox and opening his thread with Louis again. It's full of messages from his side only and it hurts to see the lack of response, especially when Nick scrolls upwards to find Louis' last message just in case he happened to miss something. He didn't, of course; the only message waiting for him at the top of his pile of texts sent is Louis' selfie from the night before his show.

Nick groans and buries his head in his pillow, half wishing he'd drunk more so maybe this would all be a blur tomorrow. Daisy poured the rest of the bottle of wine down the drain after his phone calls to Liam and that was long enough ago that Nick's sobered up. Truth be told it's nowhere near an acceptable time for Nick to go to bed but he's certainly not doing much else tonight, so he tugs the covers up to his chin and settles in.

It lasts for about two minutes before he's throwing the covers off and huffing petulantly like he's a child who was sent to his room for being naughty. He's frustrated most of all with himself because he knows this whole situation is his own damn fault, and it's near impossible for him to be able to fix.

Nick lets out a long breath as he unlocks his phone and closes his texts, tapping aimlessly through a few other apps before he makes a decision: he's going to call Liam one more time. It's his last ditch effort, but he has to try at least once more.

It's only after the line's started to ring that Nick wonders if Liam's blocked his number. The time between rings seems like ages instead of barely seconds, and Nick nearly sobs in relief when Liam answers.

"LP Agency, this is Liam, how may I direct your call?"

"Liam, it's Nick, please don't hang up," he says in a rush, "I… I need to apologize to you."

Liam waits a beat. "I'd say so."

"I was drunk, before." Nick sighs. "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have spoken to you like that. I'm just… I fucked up, I know that. Louis won't talk to me, he won't let me apologize."

"He told me what you said," Liam says, his voice laced with disgust. "I don't think he should give you the chance, if I'm honest."

"I didn't mean it," Nick says quickly, "I didn't mean it at _all_ , god, I wish I could go back and never say it. My head wasn't right, I had a drink on an empty stomach and it went right to my head--"

"Do that a lot, do you?"

Nick sighs. "I swear, I'm not trying to be a complete dickhead, it just… happens. I never wanted to hurt Louis, he's…" Nick laughs, "he's the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"Heard that before," Liam says with a snort of disbelief.

"I mean it, Liam. It's not just the sex - which is fantastic, like, the best sex I've ever had, hands down - but like, he's snarky and funny and clever and… I've never been happy with anyone like I am when I'm with him."

Nick takes a deep breath and waits for Liam to say something, but no sound comes from the other end of the line.

"I-I know how that sounds," Nick says hastily, "but I'm not stupid. I know what I am to him and I'm not trying to like, rescue him or anything because he's his own person and this isn't the bloody fifties or whatever. I don't want him to be my kept boy or anything like that, I just want to keep him around, y'know?" Nick laughs helplessly. "God, it's been less than a day and I miss him like crazy."

Liam stays silent and Nick is all but ready to give up. He's poured his heart out even more than he meant to and has gotten nothing at all in return. He lets out a harsh breath and drags a hand through his hair, about to hang up the phone when Liam speaks.

"Y'know…" Liam says in a soft tone, "Louis was toying with the idea of quitting the business just a couple days ago."

"Really?" Nick asks in a strained voice. He almost doesn't believe it; it can't really be true, why is Liam lying to him like this?

"Yeah," Liam says with a chuckle, "he asked me to take him off the rota and everything, but then…" Liam's voice turns dark, "it changed."

"What did?"

"I never thought I'd see it happen, not with Louis." Liam sighs. "He was always so detached before, always able to keep this separate from his personal life. You really did a number on him, y'know?"

"I know the feeling," Nick mumbles miserably.

"You're both idiots," Liam replies sharply. Before Nick can protest, Liam goes on, "you fall in love with a boy who sells himself for a living, and Louis goes and falls in love right back with you, a client! How stupid can you both be?!"

"I… sorry?"

"Yeah, I know you're sorry. But now's not the time for apologies, not with me. I don't wanna be in the middle of you two anymore, what're you going to do to fix this?" Liam asks with a huff, and Nick's mind goes blank.

"I… I don't know. How can I fix it when he won't even see me?"

Liam pauses, and then lets out one long, slow breath. "I think I can fix that."

*

Nick's nervous. It's possible that he's more nervous in this moment than he was before the first time he had Louis over to his flat, which is probably a good thing considering he's going to try and apologize and profess his love for Louis all in one fell swoop. In public, no less.

So, yeah. Nick's nervous.

It probably doesn't help that he's been sitting in the cafe that Liam told him to go to for the better part of an hour already, having had at least three cups of coffee in that time. He's jittery from all the caffeine and keeps anxiously looking at the door as he taps his fingers against the top of the table he's sitting at, waiting for Louis to arrive.

Liam told him that Louis would be there by one o'clock and that he would make sure that Louis' flatmate Harry would be with him to ensure that Louis wouldn't take one look at Nick and immediately leave. Nick wasn't sure how Liam could assure that Harry would go along with all of this, but he wasn't in a position to be questioning anything at this point.

"He won't make a scene in a cafe, right?" Nick had asked Liam. He thought of how cordial Louis was at his show even after what Nick had said, how Louis had only laid into him when they were alone on the street.

Liam chuckled. "Yeah, I'm not promising he won't."

"Fantastic," Nick had replied with a sigh. "S'pose I can't ask for much more."

Nick's heart leaps into his throat every time the door opens, and it drops right back down every time it's not Louis. He's starting to get discouraged when one o'clock comes and goes with a few minutes to spare and Louis hasn't shown up yet. He knows Louis is almost annoyingly punctual which leads him to the worry that somehow Louis found out about the whole thing and flat out refused to come.

He's just about resigned himself to sitting in this cafe for the rest of his life when the door opens and he hears Louis' laughter ring out from across the room. Just after one look at him, Nick tries to breathe normally but his lungs feel like they've shrunk down to being barely there at all and his hands start shaking so badly that he nearly knocks over his coffee cup. It's a wonder Louis doesn't spot him then and there with all the ruckus Nick is _positive_ he's making.

"Okay," he breathes out, muttering further affirmations under his breath as he stands up from his chair and slowly, carefully makes his way across the cafe to where Louis and who he assumes to be Harry are standing at the counter. Liam's voice saying _dimples to die for_ runs through Nick's head and he has to admit that it's right, he can see why Harry would be a popular choice.

Harry's looks aside, there's a familiarity between the two that makes Nick's heart ache with longing. He wants so badly to have that sort of connection with Louis, he wants to make Louis laugh. Louis is still laughing, chatting animatedly with Harry as Nick approaches, and all it takes is one look from Harry over his shoulder to pique Louis' interest enough to get him to turn around.

"Hi," Nick says in a tight voice, almost like he couldn't get the word out. Louis levels him with a cold look and doesn't say a word before he turns his back to Nick and starts talking to Harry again in a pointed tone that might as well scream _I don't want to speak to you_.

Nick swallows harshly and gives Harry a pleading look, so desperate for help that he's willing to beg for it from someone he's never even met before.

"Turn around, Lou," Harry says, "give him a chance."

"I don't have to, and I won't," Louis says quickly before resuming his previous topic of conversation.

"Do it and I'll buy your tea," Harry offers. Louis stops talking and stays silent for a moment while Nick holds his breath.

"Throw in a biscuit and I'll give him two minutes."

"Deal."

Louis spins around so fast that he startles Nick, leaving him slightly bewildered and not at all ready to say what he's been planning for hours.

"Well?" Louis says expectantly.

"I… I've got a table," Nick says as he gestures behind him. Louis glances over his shoulder and gives a long-suffering sigh before he turns his head towards Harry.

"Come and get me when my tea's ready, alright?"

Harry nods, and Louis dutifully follows Nick across the cafe and sits down at the table with him. Nick still can't get a handle on his thoughts, too overwhelmed by Louis actually being _here_ in front of him that his mind is a complete mess.

"You've only got a minute and a half left, y'know," Louis snaps.

"I've missed you," Nick blurts out.

"And?"

"And… I'm sorry. I never should've said what I said, I didn't mean it."

"Sounded like you did." Louis crosses his arms and sniffs. "It's true, innit? I am _just_ a prostitute."

"No, you're not, Lou, you're--"

"Don't call me that."

Nick's heart drops and his voice comes out shaky. "You're so much more than that to me."

Louis laughs derisively, but Nick tries not to let it deter him. He's got a lot to say and not much time to say it in.

"I was scared," he admits. "I was scared of how I felt about you and what that meant, and I was scared that if I admitted anything at all, you'd take off running or worse. Daisy, she… she saw right through me. She knew how I felt about you and was worried I was going to do something stupid and… then I did. I did the stupidest thing I could've ever done: I hurt you."

Nick's been watching Louis the whole time in the hopes that Louis will look back at him, but he remains staring resolutely at the table between them. His jaw is firm and no emotion apart from anger shows on his face, which makes Nick think he's lost for good.

"I wish I could take it all back," Nick whispers. "Maybe if we'd met some other way I wouldn't have fucked it all up. Maybe we could've dated properly and everything would've worked out."

"Yeah, well, it didn't." Louis slides his chair back and stands up as he calls out to the other side of the cafe, "Oi, Harold! Isn't my tea ready yet?"

"Louis, please," Nick says as he reaches out for Louis' hand. Louis pulls it away as if he's been burned and looks down at Nick, looking him right in the eyes for the first time that day and it's then that Nick sees just how affected he is too.

"I told you to never touch me again," he whispers harshly.

"I never meant to hurt you, Louis. I thought we were… I thought we could be something--"

"We can't," Louis replies tightly, flexing his hand into a fist. "We're nothing. You're not my client anymore."

"I don't want to be your client," Nick says as he stands up and steps close to Louis, careful not to touch. "I want to--"

"What?" Louis laughs, a dark, humorless sound. "You want to be my boyfriend?"

"If you'll have me."

"Who says I would?" Louis snaps. "You don't even know me, you only want me back in your bed."

"I don't," Nick says, and Louis' eyes dart to his own and he gives Nick a challenging look. "I mean, I _do,_  but that's not important."

Louis snorts, but Nick doesn't let it deter him from his point. He's going to get this off his chest one way or another, even if Louis doesn't believe him.

"I want to get to know you, properly. I want to know your tea order and what sort of biscuits you like. I want to take you out to dinner and go for walks and talk about whatever comes into that ridiculous head of yours. I want to wake up next to you in the mornings and make you breakfast, even if it's only a bit of toast because I'm quite shit at cooking, but I'll try. I… I want to hold your fucking hand, Louis." Nick sighs heavily. "That's what I want."

Louis is quiet, his eyes having dropped to the floor halfway through Nick's speech. Nick himself is all out of words to say, all he can do is wait for Louis to either say something in reply or leave. He's hoping for the former, even if it's nothing but malice.

"What're you waiting for?" Louis eventually says, his voice hardly above a whisper. Nick stares at him, unsure of what he means until he notices Louis turn his hand upwards in an offer.

Nick lets out a sharp breath as he slowly reaches out and laces their fingers together, feeling a warmth spread through his chest even though Louis still won't look up at him.

"You're not entirely forgiven, y'know," Louis says.

"Okay," Nick replies, and he squeezes Louis' hand. "On the right path, though?"

"Hope so," Louis says as he squeezes back. He gently tugs on Nick's hand, leading him back across the cafe to where Harry's waiting with Louis' tea and biscuit. Louis takes the tea and Nick the biscuit, leaving Harry by the counter with a smile on his face as they head for the door.

"Yorkshire," Louis says a few minutes later as they're walking down the sidewalk, still holding hands.

"What's that?"

"Yorkshire tea," Louis explains, "a splash of milk, no sugar." He looks up at Nick with a smile. "That's my tea order."

**Author's Note:**

> [my tumblr](http://imlouisaf.tumblr.com)


End file.
